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Apollo Theater marquee, c. 1947

Updated Apollo Theater marquee, c. 2006

This article is about the Harlem theatre. For the theatre in London, England, see Apollo Theatre. For the theatre in Chicago, see Apollo Theater Chicago.

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous clubs for popular music in the United States, and certainly the most famous club associated almost exclusively with African-American performers.

An Apollo Hall had been founded in New York City in the mid-1860s by former Civil War General Edward Ferrero as a dance hall and ballroom. Upon the expiration of his lease in 1872, the building was converted to a theater, which closed shortly before the turn of the century. However, the name "Apollo Theater" lived on.

Founded in 1913 in a different location, the new Apollo Theater was owned by various Jewish families up until World War II. When the Apollo first opened, it was one of New York City’s leading burlesque venues, opened and operated by two of the city’s most influential burlesque operators — Jules Hurtig and Harry Seamon. Open to white-only viewers, the Hurtig and Seamon’s (New) Burlesque Theater would remain in operation until 1928 when Bill Minsky took over and transformed it into the 125th Street Apollo Theater. Sidney Cohen, a powerful theatrical landlord, purchased the Apollo in 1932 upon Minsky’s untimely death. The Apollo Theater finally opened its doors to African American patrons in 1934, 20 years after the building's original opening, showcasing "a colored review" entitled Jazz a la Carte. One of the theater’s first African American Amateur Night participants, a dancer turned singing sensation, was none other than Ella Fitzgerald.

125th street in Harlem, Apollo theater in the center

The theater is located at 253 W. 125th Street in Harlem in what is now one of the best-known black neighborhoods in New York City and probably the country. When the Apollo re-opened in 1934 the area around 125th Street was a transitional neighborhood. In the decades before the Apollo, the theater had catered to white audiences with white shows featuring burlesque. When Fran Schiffman and his partner reopened the Apollo, they decided to diversify into black talent and entertainment, not only because the neighborhood had become black over a two hundred year period of gradual migration, but because black entertainers were cheaper to hire, and Schiffman could offer quality shows for reasonable rates. For many years Apollo was the only theater in New York City to hire black talent.^[1] The Apollo grew to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance of the pre-WWII years. In 1934, it introduced its regular Amateur Night shows. Billing itself as a place "where stars are born and legends are made," the Apollo became famous for launching the careers of artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Sarah Vaughan. The Apollo also featured the performances of old-time vaudeville favorites like Tim Moore, Stepin Fetchit, Godfrey Cambridge, Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham, Moms Mabley, Marshall "Garbage" Rogers, and Johnny Lee.

The club fell into decline in the 1960s and 1970s, but was revived in 1983, when it obtained federal, state, and city landmark status. It fully reopened in 1985, and was bought by the State of New York in 1991. It is now run by a nonprofit organization, the Apollo Theater Foundation Inc., and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually. In 2005, Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama released an album Live at the Apollo in honor of the Harlem music scene.

It is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated variety show consisting of new talent.

On December 15, 2005, the Apollo Theater launched the first phase of its refurbishment, costing estimated $25 million. The first phase included the facade and the new light-emitting diode (LED) marquee. Attendees and speakers at the launch event included President Bill Clinton, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons.

To install the sign, the theater hired the noted New York advanced sign consultant R.L. Willard, whom also devised the content (visual) strategy for the marquee and an array of nine plasma screens at street level, and inside the theater's vestibule. To date, the Apollo renovation is America's most expensive and advanced refurbishment of a landmark theater.

On December 28, 2006, the body of James Brown, who had died a few days before, was displayed at the Apollo Theater as a memorial to his life and career. The memorial was covered heavily by both television and print media. This tribute to Brown once again brought the legendary Harlem theater back into the public spotlight.

• Lou Reed makes a reference to 'The Apollo' in his song "Walk On The Wild Side".
• Immortal Technique references the theatre in his song, "Crossing the Boundary."

• Official web site
• The Dick Davy Story

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