Bronzeville Landmarks
The community came to the Lincoln for the latest films, vaudeville, and her signature specialty—jazz. From the 1930s to the early 1960s, the King-Lincoln District was known nationally as a major jazz center, and the Ogden Club (later renamed the Lincoln Ballroom) on the second floor of the building became one of the most popular venues in the country for live jazz. Since downtown hotels served “whites only,”traveling African-American musicians and performers were housed in King-Lincoln hotels, many just blocks from the Lincoln. Ironically, the racial intolerance which put these musicians in such close proximity to the theatre is believed to have ultimately graced the Lincoln with appearances from legends such as Count Basie, James Brown, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Etta James, and Columbus native Nancy Wilson.
The Lincoln Theater
"The Pythian Temple and James Pythian Theater is a four-story, brick and concrete structure, rectangular in plan, with an asymmetrically-arranged, eclectic facade, reminiscent of the Colonial Revival style. It is significant for its position as a major community center for the Columbus' Black population from the time of its construction. In addition, it is the only historic building in the city known to have been designed by a Black architect (Evans and Plato, Louisville, Kentucky). By the mid-1920s, the Mt. Vernon Avenue area was firmly established as a Black neighborhood. This handsome building was erected in 1925-1926 for use as a Black lodge and theater, and has remained a fraternal and social center for the neighborhood to this day. Through the years, the theater has been used for vaudeville, movies, and performances by entertainment greats such as Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington."
King Arts Complex
Vernon Theatre which opened April 11, 1914. It became the Cameo Theatre in 1928, and a bowling alley in 1954. The building was razed in the 1970s to make way for the Mt. Vernon Plaza
Vernon Theater
In the 1930s and ‘40s, downtown Columbus’ near east side was home to an affluent African-American business and entertainment district, known today as the King-Lincoln District. At the time, segregation actually fueled the commercial and cultural development of the area, as African-American consumers could only patronize the African-American businesses in the neighborhood. As a result, a thriving, self-sufficient community developed which celebrated its cultural heritage and created its own opportunity.
James Albert “Al” Jackson, a very successful African-American real estate owner and entrepreneur, and his partner James “Ernie” Williams built, owned, and operated the District’s Empress Theatre, the Empress Soda Grill, and the Crystal Slipper Ballroom. According to oral history, Jackson was angered by the purchase of the nearby Vernon Theatre by a white-owned theatre chain with a “No Admission to Negroes” policy, and decided to build a grand and beautiful theatre especially for Columbus’ African-American population.
Rev. N. L. Scarborough