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 . 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 , 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 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. Also, there was her ophthalmologist Dr. Cowan who shared an office with Dr. Curtis at 13th and U Street.

43:25 Ms. Marcus remembers that some dates with boys involved sitting at home. They had a ping-pong table that her father enjoyed playing games with the boys that came to visit his daughters. Jeanine was very popular with boys when she became a teenager. Ms. Marcus recalls that her first date occurred when she was finally allowed to date at age 16. She would go out with boys to see movies on U Street at the Lincoln or Republic Theaters. She recalls that, “the Booker T. was always dirty and nasty so we didn’t go there.” She would go every other week to see live shows at the Howard Theatre. She saw many famous performers including Count Basie, , Louis Jordan, , , Moms Mabley, Red Foxx, . She remembers that, “we had a habit of ‘bucking’ the show.” She defines bucking as paying for the first performance, but not leaving until the evening or paying for additional shows. Also, she remembers a time when she caused controversy herself. Once, when Lionel Hampton’s orchestra started to play their closing theme “Flying Home” she and a friend named Rudolph began dancing in the aisle. Ushers ordered them out and the rest of the audience emptied the theatre in protest. She also remembers seeing the International Sweethearts of Rhythm at the Howard Theatre. These women came from different parts of the world but all went to Piney Woods School in Mississippi. She learned many years later that the trombonist at the performance she saw was the mother of African- American media mogul . Ms. Marcus remembers that Ms. Hughes got her start in the media business by operating WOL 1450 AM located at that time at 4th and H Street NE with her former husband Dewey Hughes. Ms. Marcus recalls that after he left, Cathy “blossomed forth” and “branched out. Now, she’s a mogul for black news”.

49:40 Ms. Marcus recalls that walking or “promenading” on U Street began near the intersection of Rhode Island and Florida Avenues. Young people would walk from there to the intersection with 7th Street/Georgia Avenue/U Street. She remembers that Smallwood Williams began his ministry by preaching at the trolley stop at this intersection. His wife would sing and the children would play music; his son on saxophone. Eventually, his ministry became known as Bible Way Church and is located on New Jersey Avenue. Ms. Marcus remembers that U Street as a business district and a social arena for promenading ended at the residences in the 1700 block NW.

52:55 Ms. Marcus remembers an important civil rights action in her life that didn’t involve U Street. Her daughter, Robin, at age 7 asked why the family couldn’t go to Glen Echo Amusement Park. In May of 1960, that amusement park was still a whites-only business. Instead of explaining segregation to Robin, Ms. Marcus wrote a letter to asking for advice on how to explain the situation to her daughter. A picket line was formed which Ms. Marcus and her sister Jeanine joined for a couple of days. Ms. Marcus recalls that she started the public protest that ended segregation at Glen Echo Amusement Park.

56:10 [The interviewer, Kelly E. Navies, reads the letter aloud.]

58:00 In response to the interviewer’s question, Ms. Marcus recalls the Emmett Till murder which had happened a few years prior to her writing a letter to the Washington Post editor. She remembers the picture of Emmett Till’s body in the casket published in Jet Magazine. Robin was only two years old in 1955, so she was too young for her mom to discuss that civil rights moment with her.

58:33 Ms. Marcus remembers that her letter inspired her friends and neighbors to join the picket line. Other civil rights organizations, including some communist sympathizers, joined the picket line. Her husband, Mark, was working security for the Pentagon. She feared retribution against her family and friends from Sen. Joseph McCarthy who “was reigning supreme at the time. So, I had to withdraw from the line before old Roy Chalk gave in.” Roy Chalk was the owner of Glen Echo Amusement Park at that time. After the Park was desegregated, Ms. Marcus and two daughters drove out there with a friend and her children.

1:00:25 Ms. Marcus recalls that she was substitute teaching in the DC school system around this time. 1:00:40 Ms. Marcus remembers the March on Washington in 1963. She was pregnant with her fourth child at the time. Her husband stayed at home with the children. She joined the march on Constitution Avenue and walked all the way to Lincoln Memorial. She sat on a knoll under the trees for the rest of the day until the event was over. “I never witnessed, nor since then, anything more spiritual than that particular day.” She remembers Rev. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. “But, the whole day was much more than that!” She recalls that the emphasis was on justice for all. She remembers that her sister and brother in law were there that day, and that he was assisting in the first aid tent. After the event ended, everyone left quietly and peacefully. She walked all the way to her mother’s home on 13th Street NW to wait for her husband to pick her up. At that time, she and her husband were living in their first home on Delafield Street NE.

1:04:30 Ms. Marcus remembers the speakers at the March on Washington including Joan Baez, Mahalia Jackson, John Lewis, and Lena Horne. She recalls that they had kept Bayard Rustin from appearing that day, even though he had been the “mastermind” organizing the event. Ms. Marcus kept up on current events by reading news publications. She recalls that her mother taught her to read when she was 3 years old. Her father would bring home leftover magazines from the FBI office. Her parents subscribed to several news publications including The Evening Star, The Times-Herald, The Daily News.

1:06:20 Ms. Marcus was a guest gossip columnist for The Gaily(sp?) News, a publication sponsored by the Theatres in the U Street neighborhood, to which she contributed occasionally throughout high school. When she lived in Gary, Indiana, she was the editor of the newsletter for the Urban League from 1967 to 1973. Ms. Marcus was not in Washington, DC when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, nor during the riots that followed.

1:08:00 Ms. Marcus recalls returning to Washington, DC in 1973. “It was entirely different. It was totally desegregated, but the ‘hill’ had become a place of danger. See, when I had grown up here, most of the residents were professionals or government employees or self-employed.” “At the time of my living in the neighborhood, folks left their front doors unlocked.” “And when I came back, I called it the ‘Element’ had taken over.” “…I put the boys in private school. They were being intimidated by the neighborhood as well as the kids in school.”

1:10:00 Ms. Marcus remembers U Street specifically upon her return in 1973. “It was under duress. It was still in disorder from the riots. So, I didn’t go down there.” She had the responsibility of caring for her young family that kept her from venturing out for nightlife on U Street as she had done in earlier years.

1:11:00 Ms. Marcus recalled some additional clubs from the heyday of U Street including Benghazi, Club Bali, Club Cimarron, and Crystal Caverns. She remembers they would purchase a single beer or mixed drink at the beginning of the evening, and take it with them to each nightclub over the next four hours.

1:12:20 Ms. Marcus has a final thought for future generations. “I just want the audience to learn how business can thrive if people come together and make it possible. I watched U Street become the Mecca for the so-called Colored Community.”

1:13:05 Ms. Marcus remembers the churches in the neighborhood including Lincoln Congregation, Vermont Avenue Baptist Church, and St. Augustine Catholic Church.

1:13:30 Ms. Marcus recalls the Lincoln Colonnade on U Street. It was the dance hall for formal occasions such as annual dances sponsored by fraternities, sororities and high school clubs. In high school she would go to The Odd Fellows Hall at 9th and T Streets NW for Friday night dances hosted by various clubs. Across the street from there was the Washington Conservatory of Music. This was a school for those who could afford to pay for private lessons.

1:15:22 Ms. Marcus remembers The Stage Door, which was a restaurant originally opened by Herbert Saunders who also had a social club on 7th Street called Old Rose. The Stage Door was the place to go to hang out with the musicians who performed at the Howard Theatre including Pearl Bailey. She recalls that Cecelia Penny operated the Stage Door after Mr. Saunders left. Cecelia and her sister Evelyn were considered part of the “jet set” in Washington, DC.

1:17:15 Ms. Marcus recalls that while her father was working for Mr. Coley. He organized the Battle of Music in October of 1941 at Griffith Stadium on Georgia Avenue where the Howard University Hospital now stands. Roy Eldridge and Charlie Barnet were the contenders. Ms. Marcus, her sister Jeanine, and her mother were sitting in the grandstand. The stadium was filled to capacity. Ms. Marcus recalls that when the audience stood up to dance to the music, they interfered with the audio from the stage. During the performance, the sound system malfunctioned and the audience in the grandstand could no longer hear well. They began to throw bottles and other trash. This incited a complete riot and the concert had to be cancelled. Eventually, her father and Mr. Coley had to refund the audience’s money.

1:20:20 Ms. Marcus remembers that Duke’s shoe business used to be on 13th and U Street. Duke is still alive and is a wealth of knowledge about U Street and the neighborhood.

1:20:55 In the closing thoughts, Ms. Marcus and Mr. Marcus discuss their memories of their meeting and courtship as students at Howard University. They married on Friday October 13, 1950 at 8 o’clock.