Tape Log Interviewee: Alva Lorena Smith Marcus Interviewer: Kelly Elaine Navies Interview Date: September 19, 2014 Location: Alva Marcus’ home in Washington, DC Length of Interview: 1:24:00 Comments: Only Text in quotation marks is verbatim; all other text is paraphrased, including the interviewer’s questions. Time Topic 0:02 “Today is September 19, 2014…” 0:28 Ms. Marcus discusses her early life and family history in Washington, DC. This includes the fact that her dad was “special messenger” for J. Edgar Hoover, founding director of the FBI. Also, her father organized live music performances at Sparrow’s Beach in the summertime near Annapolis, MD and Turner’s Arena at 14th and W Streets NW. Her mother took in room and boarders. The family lived at 1422 D Street NE, 2029 13th Street NW, 1222 Irving St NW and 1209 Irving St NW. Ms. Marcus attended Bruce and James Monroe Elementary schools, Garnet-Patterson and Banneker Junior High Schools, and Cardozo High School from which she graduated in 1944. 7:07 Ms. Marcus’ recalls her earliest memories of U Street. “Other than going to Asbury Methodist Church at 11th and K, it was the world that I knew.” Her mother used to take her and her sisters to see movies at the Lincoln, Republic and Howard Theaters. 10:44 Ms. Marcus remembers two locations for the business You & Me on U Street: 7th Street, U Street and Florida Avenue, as well as U Street between 13th and 14th Streets. These were places for young people to socialize and order sandwiches or ice cream sodas. She did not go to clothing stores or salons on U Street. Her mother styled the girls’ hair and made their clothes in pairs. Ms. Marcus and her eldest sister Jeannine Clark were given the same outfits. The middle sisters Minerva and Elizabeth were dressed alike. Lastly, it was the same outfits for her youngest sisters Amy and Lorena. 14:15 Ms. Marcus recalls that before her father owned and operated his own businesses, he managed various businesses for Charles C. Coley. Mr. Coley came to Washington, DC in the 1930s to attend Howard University. He won the lottery and used that money to invest in several businesses including The Varsity Grill, The Hollywood, and Northwest Amusements Company. Mr. Coley asked her father to manage these businesses. After a while her father opened a business for himself next door to Northwest Amusements in the 1000 block of U Street. Her father’s business which he called “the shrimp hut” was where she waited tables as a teenager. Her father opened a second business for himself in the 900 block of U Street. 17:00 Ms. Marcus remembers that her father and Mr. Coley had a “personal disagreement”. Then, Mr. Coley bought the building containing the Shrimp Hut from the owner, Elder Michaux, and put her father out. 17:40 Ms. Marcus recalls that in the 1940s, her father managed The Casbah for the owner Mr. Cunningham. “At this time, the war was really on and U Street was alive and vibrant.” 18:25 Ms. Marcus’ father’s name was John Archibald Smith. He was known professionally as J. Archibald Smith. The people who knew him well called him “Archie”. Ms. Marcus remembers that her father retired or resigned from Sparrow’s Beach and the FBI while he was employed by Mr. Coley. She refers to her father at this point in his life as “Mr. Big Time”. While working for Mr. Coley, her father opened two locations for the Pig ‘n’ Pit: 1800 block of 14th Street and at the intersection of 6th Street and Florida Avenue. 20:00 Ms. Marcus remembers the kinds of businesses that were thriving on U Street in its heyday, but not all of the details. There were two funeral homes: Frazier and Jarvis. There were two furniture stores across the street from each other. There was a drug store on the corner of 11th and U Streets. Industrial bank was located next to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company which was next to Thompson’s Dairy. There was an ice house around the corner on V Street. On U Street there was Powell’s Flower shop and around the corner on 11th Street was Chisley Flower shop. At that time Lee’s Flower shop was in the 900 block of U Street, and later moved down toward 11th Street. There was a billiard room on U Street and a pool hall across from the Howard Theatre on T Street. 23:10 Ms. Marcus recalls how The DC Donut Shop came into being as she looks at a photograph of the business. [The photograph shows the interior of the DC Donut Shop. The unique feature is the long curving counter that juts out into restaurant twice with barstool seating for 40 people. Also, there were six booths that could seat four patrons each along the opposite wall.] After a visit to New York City, her father was inspired by the “wells” architecture of a restaurant he saw there. So when he returned to DC, he encouraged Mr. Westbrook, a prospective business partner, to build using a similar design with wells. The public perception was that her father owned the business, but in reality he was serving as manager. 25:05 Ms. Marcus recalls working at the DC Donut Shop. “It was rough because I worked from eleven at night to seven in the morning.” “Also, I worked those ‘wells’ as a waitress in between classes at Howard.” The shop was open 24 hours and served breakfast, lunch and dinner. “The wells were run by what we knew as short order cook.” “It was very busy day and night.” “My father had a reputation for serving good food.” “Wherever he moved, his crowd would follow him.” The list includes the Pig’n’Pit, The Hollywood and the Varsity Grill. The Varsity Grill was unique because it was decorated with artwork caricaturing university student life drawn by Rick Roberts, an African-American cartoonist for Esquire magazine. 29:50 Ms. Marcus remembers that U Street was doing so well economically that Giant supermarkets opened a store at 10th and U Street in the late 1940s. 30:15 Ms. Marcus recalls that The Afro-American newspaper was located at 11th and S Streets NW. The less successful Washington Tribune was located for a time in the Masonic Temple building on U Street. 30:55 Ms. Marcus remembers that Washington Metropolitan Police Department station no. 13 was on U Street which was overseen by Lt. Daniel Pittman. 32:00 Ms. Marcus recalls that as a teenager in junior high school she and her friends would go to Kai No Kuni for hotdogs. The owners were Japanese and during World War II, the US government sent them to an internment camp. “They weren’t bothering anybody that I could tell.” 32:45 Ms. Marcus remembers some more of the businesses in the neighborhood. The first black woman who owned a real estate business on U Street was Geneva Valentine. There were several lawyers who were postal workers during the day and practiced law at night. For this reason they were known as the “sundown” lawyers. There was a law school owned by Robert Terrell, the husband of civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell. Ms. Marcus did not know the family personally, but she did march with her in the 1940s. They marched in protest against the stores policy of segregation. African-americans could not eat at the lunch counter at People’s Drug Store located at 14th and U Street. Also, they were not allowed to try on merchandise before purchasing it at the stores downtown. Ms. Marcus explains why a store in a predominantly black business district had such segregated policies is because U Street had been a white neighborhood before. Ms. Marcus has been a $2 card-carrying member of the NAACP since she was old enough to have pocket change. 35:32 Ms. Marcus remembers some more businesses on U Street. There were the Dunbar and Whitelaw Hotels, which were open to people of all colors. There was Alfred’s Steakhouse and two Chinese food restaurants on U Street. 36:40 Ms. Marcus recalls the Marian Anderson concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. Marian Anderson had been denied a request to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall because they were a segregated organization and she was African-American. The DAR’s refusal of her request caused a great controversy so Eleanor Roosevelt arranged to have Marian Anderson sing at the Lincoln Memorial instead. Ms. Marcus and her sister Jeanine had decided to attend the concert. The weekend before had been Palm Sunday, so they had worn their new matching spring outfits to church. The day of the concert, Easter Sunday, was cold and wintery. Their father drove the oldest daughters down to the monument and dropped them off. They stood with a huge crowd in the snow for 30-40 minutes listening to beautiful singing. Ms. Marcus remarks how commonplace it was in those days for children to be in public without direct supervision or fear of being harmed. She remembers that Marian Anderson wore a mink coat but no hat. 39:40 Ms. Marcus remembers that her father picked them up after the concert and took them to FBI headquarters where they met J. Edgar Hoover. They were given a brief tour of the building and 50 cent piece each. 42:35 Ms. Marcus recalls that there were barber shops and hair salons on U Street.