en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalls_Paradise
2 corrections found
After 23 years as the owner of the night club, Ed Smalls sold the club to Tommy Smalls (no relation) in 1955.
The ownership duration is wrong. If Ed Smalls opened Smalls Paradise in 1925 and sold it in 1955, he owned it for about 30 years, not 23.
Full reasoning
The dates in reliable sources do not support a 23-year ownership span.
- City Lore states that Smalls' Paradise was opened in 1925 by Ed Smalls.
- A Save Harlem Now historical summary states that in 1955, Ed Smalls sold the club to Tommy Smalls.
- A New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission report describes Ed Smalls as the proprietor of Smalls Paradise for over 30 years.
Those sources line up: from 1925 to 1955 is about 30 years of ownership, not 23. So the article's duration is a factual arithmetic error even though the sale year itself is consistent with the sources.
3 sources
- Smalls' Paradise (former) - City Lore
Opened in basement premises in 1925 by Ed Smalls, Smalls' Paradise became one of the most successful and longest running clubs in Harlem.
- Smalls Paradise historical summary - Save Harlem Now
In 1955, Ed Smalls sold the club to Tommy Smalls (no relation).
- New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Designation Report LP2651
Edwin Alexander Smalls, (1882-1974) ... renowned proprietor of Small's Paradise for over 30 years ... Smalls Paradise was located at 2294 Seventh Avenue and opened in 1925.
at 134th Street
Smalls Paradise was associated with West 135th Street, not 134th Street. Historical sources place it at Seventh Avenue and 135th Street.
Full reasoning
Historical sources place Smalls Paradise at Seventh Avenue and 135th Street, not at 134th Street.
A New York Public Library digital collection item for the club is captioned "Small's Paradise. 135th Street and 7th Avenue., New York City." A New Yorker history of 1920s Harlem likewise says "Smalls' Paradise, at Seventh Avenue and 135th Street". A CUNY Harlem history page also identifies the later school site as 200-214 West 135th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.
Because multiple sources place the venue on 135th Street, the phrase "at 134th Street" is incorrect.
3 sources
- Interior view of Small's Paradise, with inset portrait of owner Ed Smalls - NYPL Digital Collections
Caption on recto: Small's Paradise. 135th Street and 7th Avenue., New York City.
- Harlem-III: "what a City!" - The New Yorker
Smalls' Paradise, at Seventh Avenue and 135th Street, was one of the top four night clubs of Harlem.
- New Harlem - Harlem 350 (CUNY)
The new building incorporates the three-story facade of the 1924 building that housed Small's Paradise ... Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, 200-214 West 135th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.