A New Direction

I went to the Library last week and to my surprise I was able to find a lot of information on the Royal Theater. I found a paper that was written several years ago by a student who attended Morgan State University, Pictures, and a few articles. I was very excited to have come in contact with this information; however, it still wasn’t enough. It was kind of frustrating that I was unable to find the information I was looking for. Most of the pictures and articles were about the people who performed at the Royal and how it was one of the best places to be in the African American community. I wanted to know more about the owners of the Theater and things that went on behind the curtains.
After having a conversation with my professor, I decided to broaden my topic and research “Pennsylvania Avenue and The Royal Theater.” The Royal Theater was located on Pennsylvania Avenue and during that time Pennsylvania Avenue was known as the heart of Black Baltimore. Now that my topic has changed, I have more work to do. I’m going to take you back to the 1920’s, a time when people in Baltimore just had fun and the entertainment industry was astonishing; but more Importantly I will educate you on what it was like for Black’s during that time period.

A little about Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue also known as “The Avenue” has some of Baltimore’s richest Black history. Any Baltimorean who was born 1950 or prior can tell you tales of the avenue. There was night clubs, restaurants, clothing stores, and some of the best entertainment in the city. Although most of the clothing stores were owned by Europeans; African Americans were treated differently. They were allowed to try on clothing, which wasn’t allowed elsewhere.
Pennsylvania Avenue was also known as “The Street of Dreams.” Black’s enjoyed Pennsylvania Avenue because it was a comfort zone; they were allowed to hang out on Friday’s and Saturday’s without being harassed by White’s. These are a few pictures from 1920’s – 1930’s of Pennsylvania avenue.




mdcivilrights.org

Wow! I had no Idea...

Pennsylvania Avenue wasn’t only a home for African Americans. During the 1700’s and 1800’s Europeans would travel from Southern Pennsylvania to trade and conduct other business. Before “The Avenue” had the name we know it as today, it went through three changes; The Wagon Road, Hooks town Road, Pennsylvania Road and finally Pennsylvania Avenue. Between 1688 and 1865 many Black slaves and freemen worked in what was known as Druid Hill Park. Druid Hill Park is only a couple of blocks away from Pennsylvania Avenue; Druid Hill Park had most of Baltimore’s Black population.
In 1799 the first group of slaves settled from Hattie’s. However, Pennsylvania Avenue didn’t become a predominately Black community until the 1920s. With the increase in Black churches, schools, night clubs, restaurants, hotels, barbers shops, beauty salons, insurance companies, banks, newspapers and medical facility named Provident Hospital. Pennsylvania Avenue became a successful community. Baltimore at that time was a segregated city, many African American inhabitants considered Pennsylvania Avenue “a City within a City.”

I will rearrange my blogs

After reading my blogs I realized that I needed to reorder my blogs so that they make sense. I just wanted to make my readers aware of this so that you aren’t confused.

The 1920's:"The Avenue" was full of life!

The 1920 census showed that 90 percent of Baltimore’s Black population lived along Pennsylvania Avenue. As I stated before, Pennsylvania was the heart of the Black community. This area played the most important role in the development of Black culture in Baltimore. Day and night Pennsylvania Avenue was crowded. Children attended school there; people shopped, listened to music, danced, and fulfilled their dreams and desires.




In 1921 the Royal Theater was built. I started my research with the royal theater. When the theater was finally complete this gave the Black community a sense of pride. The people who performed at the theater stayed in Black owned hotels such as the Smith’s hotel (once located at 435 N. Paca Street) owned by Thomas R. Smith. Mr. Smith was well known in the community and considered to be one of the wealthiest black men in Baltimore during the 20’s.The Penn hotel was also located on Pennsylvania Avenue. After celebrities performed, they would hang out and eat at some of the local restaurants.
As I read the information on Pennsylvania Avenue I felt the liveliness of this neighborhood. It made me feel like I was there dancing, singing, and just living for the moment.

Years later; “The Avenue” became known as the drug capital

Although Pennsylvania Avenue seemed to be a positive and free spirited place; The Avenue also attracted negativity. While I was in my criminal justice class Wednesday, we watched a documentary on “lil Melvin” a B.E.T claimed American Gangster. In this documentary Melvin talked about the great times on Pennsylvania Avenue. He remembered making hundreds of thousands of dollars gamboling with dice. After winning the lottery, Melvin was introduced to a Jewish store owner, who later introduced him to selling drugs. During the 1950’s and 60’s Pennsylvania Avenue had changed tremendously. The Avenue was no longer about “just living in the moment” it turned into a quick hustle. People from all over the world, black and white came to Baltimore to gambol and make extremely large drug trades. The city, especially the avenue, became well known for drugs; specifically heroine and dope. Pennsylvania Avenue would never be the same after it was known as the drug capital. In this video, is the documentary of “lil Melvin” he will go into detail about his life and connection to Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a lengthy video, but you will enjoy it.Please click the link below to watch the video.

http://www.bet.com/video/397591

The 1968 Riots and its Significance to The decline of Pennsylvania Avenue

Two days after Dr. Martin Luther king was assonated rioting broke out in over 100 cities, Baltimore City included. The African American community was angry. Not only because of Dr. king’s Assassination, but also the Vietnam war, race discrimination, and the illegal tactics of the government. Although there were many more factors that contributed to the 68 riots, overall Pennsylvania Avenue changed forever. The Royal Theater was attacked; many Black owned businesses were attacked in the 68 riots. From then on, Pennsylvania Avenue went on a long decline. Below is a picture of what The Royal Theater looks like today.



Most of the businesses that were located on Pennsylvania Avenue were destroyed during the rioting. Not only did this ruin the heart of Black Baltimore, it also took the little bit of positivity that The Avenue had left. The 1970’s and 80’s became a horrible divide between the “haves and have not’s.” There weren’t many jobs available so people began to sell drugs or hustle by any means necessary. Below is a video of a Baltimorean and his remembrance of the 68 riots. pleases click the link below to watch the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lbj36LWtHE
(Although Baltimore has a great History, there aren’t many documentations, pictures, and videos on file. So my selection was extremely limited, even at the library.I believe this video may be from one of UB students)

I spoke to Mr. Rodney Elliot of age 78. “Pennsylvania Avenue use to be a security blanket for us Black folks. Then those riots came, and they just messed up everything! I mean I understand why it was done. We wanted to be herd! But man do I miss the good ole’ days on The Avenue. Then After the Avenue was gone, that’s when the Heroine and looting got worse.”
Mr. Elliot seemed to really miss the old Pennsylvania Avenue. As I stated before I could feel the liveliness of The Avenue just by doing the research; so I decided to conduct a small ethnographic study.

Ethnographic/Observational study

Friday December 11, 2009 I went to Pennsylvania Avenue to observe the neighborhood. It was about 7:30 pm, so it was dark. Just using my common sense, I had a friend travel with me. As we walked down the street, I saw three cop cars and one ambulance truck. The sirens were loud. I looked to the right and left of me and I didn’t see anything but apartment buildings. Some of the buildings were boarded up. There were lots of people standing around the yellow caution tape. “Back up! We need you to back up!” The police officer screamed. Although I was only on Pennsylvania Avenue for fifteen minutes, I had made the decision to leave. I’m not sure why the police and ambulance trucks were there, but it wasn’t a good decision for me to stick around and find out why. When I drove away from the Avenue, I felt somewhat saddened. During this research project, it felt good to learn that Baltimore had remarkable black history. Not only was Pennsylvania Avenue a home for Black’s, it was also a place where other races came to enjoy the entertainment, food, and fun. However, as I walked those same streets, I felt uncomfortable and the environment was negative. It made me believe the statement that all good things come to an end.

My Final Thoughts on Pennsylvania Avenue

Studying Pennsylvania Avenue was overall an amazing experience. I learned the good, the bad, and the not so much discussed. While I was in class the other day watching the documentary on “lil Menvin” the beginning of the video was a little disturbing. It started out by saying “Baltimore is known for many things; Camden Yards, its Inner Harbor, crab cakes, and Heroine.” To the rest of the world, Baltimore may be known for drugs and food. However, to me Baltimore has such a rich history that contributes to society. Pennsylvania Avenue was one of the most well known places for entertainment in the United States. It was known as the heart of Black Baltimore. However The Avenue was also a welcoming place for people of all races. Although the Avenue will never be the same as it was in the 20’s it still has remarkable history. Today I took my last trip to the library and I discovered that there are plans to rebuild Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m not sure if the NAACP is serious about this, but according to newspaper articles there has been some discussion for many years. Overall, I hope I answered all of one’s questions involving Pennsylvania Avenue and The Royal Theater. Hope you enjoyed my blog as much as I did conducting research.