hotels near the metropolitan opera in new york

Hotels like the Metropolitan were essential for Black entertainers working their way through the old Chitlin’ Circuit. Miss Betty, lower left, presides of the historic Metropolitan Hotelįor more than fifty years, the Hotel Metropolitan served a Who’s Who of “Negro” celebrities: entertainers, musicians, singers, sports figures, and even a future Supreme Court Justice. The Hotel Metropolitan in Paducah was born of necessity during the darkest days of segregation, yet the hotel became a well-established stop for travelers of color-everyday folks and those Black celebrities, who now seem larger than life. Sometimes, those stories may contain a little of both. That’s what I enjoy-telling those stories, which may be tragic or may be triumphant. Every building has a past and a story to tell. But I what I truly love is the history of old buildings. In another life, I would have been an architectural historian-helping to preserve the physical structure of historic buildings. That sad truth is what these voices want you to remember – they need to be remembered. If you do, then you know those voices all belonged to famous entertainers, who, long ago, were treated as second-class citizens in their own country. Voice from a Troubled Past: Each voice, however, asked the same question- Do you remember?ĭo you remember the Big Band Era with Cab Calloway’s scat and jive? Or the bee-bop jazz of singer Ella Fitzgerald? Soul sensation James Brown telling everyone that he felt good? Or, the incomparable Tina Turner struttin’ and screamin’ about a big wheel that kept on turning? These lovingly restored rooms were gateways to a troubled past, and as I walked down the hallway, each small room spoke to me-with various voices from long ago. Guest rooms, surprisingly spacious, yet tiny when compared with modern-day hotel accommodations, lined the hall. Standing at the top of a wooden staircase, the narrow hallway, featuring an old-fashioned carpet runner-slightly askew- beckoned me to explore its past. Beginning with Paducah’s Hotel Metropolitan, Ken Billett’s new travel column takes us to historically significant places within a weekend’s drive from Memphis

Hotels near the metropolitan opera in new york