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The Graystone International Jazz Museum: A Brief History

2015; Volume: 41; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5342/michhistrevi.41.2.0081

2327-9672

Veronica M. Grandison, Richard Marcil,

Cuban History and Society

The Graystone International Jazz Museum: A Brief History By Veronica M. Grandison and Richard Marcil The Graystone Ballroom, once billed as “Detroit’s Million Dollar Ballroom,” was one of the most popular ballrooms in the nation in the 1920s and early 1930s. Located at Woodward and Canfield, the Graystone was the city’s largest ballroom, handling up to 3,000 patrons on its dance floors and balconies.1 The building was designed in a neoGothic style by renowned architect Rupert W. Koch, though the space was originally intended for a large restaurant called “The Chinese Gardens.” After the original owners pulled out in 1922 jazz bandleader Jean Goldkette, along with Charles Horvath, stepped in and turned the building into a ballroom. Covered in polished gray terra cotta, the original plan called for ten stories though it ultimately stood at just half that. In 1928 an adjacent space called Graystone Gardens opened, allowing patrons to enjoy entertainment outside of the venue. In keeping with its reputation as the most popular dance spot in the city, the Graystone commanded a stellar musical lineup. Nearly every popular jazz musician of the era performed there: Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and a host of other jazz greats. At one point the ballroom’s house band featured legendary cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, and both Goldkette’s Orchestra and the predominantly African American McKinney’s Cotton Pickers became nationally renowned while playing at the Graystone.2 Although African American bands performed at the Graystone the institution was largely segregated, as were most major entertainment venues during this era. The Graystone, like other ballrooms, had theme nights: Wednesdays were “Boy Meets Girl Night” and Monday nights catered to African American audiences. The Monday night dances at the 1 Lars Bjorn and James Gallert, Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2011), 8. 2 Dan Austin, “Graystone Ballroom,” Historicdetroit.org, 2014. The Michigan Historical Review 41:2 (2015): 81-88©2015 Central Michigan University. ISSN 0890-1686 All Rights Reserved 82 The Michigan Historical Review Earl Walton Orchestra, Graystone Ballroom (date unknown) Source: Hackley Collection, Detroit Public Library Graystone were organized by African American dance promoters who rented the ballroom and invited the public through flyers and advertisements in the black press.3 “Graystone Ballroom and Graystone Gardens was where we went on Monday nights, the only night colored people could go,” wrote Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr.: That was our night. Everybody who was anybody would be there, dressed to kill . . . wall to wall people inside and out, not letting the hot, sticky summer weather keep them from wearing the finest clothes possible, moving and grooving to the live music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie or one of the other top colored bands.4 However, as the swing era receded so too did the ballroom’s fortunes. The University of Michigan purchased it in 1935 and leased it 3 Ibid. 4 Berry Gordy, To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown (London: Headline Book Publishing, 1994), 42. The Graystone Museum 83 to two business owners but they lost $75,000 in their venture.5 In 1963 Gordy bought it; he had fond memories of the place from his youth and intended to make it a proving grounds for his growing lineup of musicians. Unfortunately, the Graystone’s size made it untenable as a concert house when compared to larger Detroit theaters, like the Fox. When Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972 the building closed permanently. Detroiters, however, were determined not to let the venue be forgotten. In 1974 retired bus driver James Jenkins founded the Graystone International Jazz Museum (GIJM). The year was significant as it also saw the death of the great jazz pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, and Jenkins reflected on his passing that there was no repository, no safe haven, for jazz heritage anywhere in the nation. He decided to establish the Graystone Museum as a way to provide such a sanctuary for jazz artifacts and culture. The museum was not located in the crumbling ballroom but rather in downtown Detroit, where it housed photos, posters, video tapes, books, and other jazz...