Golden West Hotel
410 Seventh Ave. South
During the 1920s and ’30s, a succession of jazz clubs flourished in the Golden West Hotel, an enterprise operated from 1920-27 by Russell “Noodles” Smith, who also ran the Coast Hotel with his wife, Elbe, until they split up and she took over. Both establishments welcomed people of color, who were barred from downtown hotels. The Golden West was variously listed at 410, 416, 417 and 418 Seventh Ave. S.; the 410 entrance is where you are standing now. Pianist Palmer Johnson recalled playing in 1929 at “a joint up on the fourth or fifth floor of the Golden West Hotel” managed by vocalist Lillian Goode’s husband. In June 1934, a year after beer (but not hard liquor) was legalized for sale in Washington taverns by the Steele Act, Russell “Noodles” Smith’s sometime business partner Louis Todd moved the Little Harlem Club from the Coast Hotel to the Golden West, renaming it the Little Harlem Beer Tavern. The club became a sparkling social center for the Black community. Situated in a large room with a stage wide and deep enough to accommodate a floor show and chorus girls, the Little Harlem featured an in-house group, the Little Harlem Band (players unknown) and in 1935 presented the fledging Lionel Hampton band, from Los Angeles, on the Leschi ferry.
The Northwest Enterprise, June 12, 1936, announces the opening of the Ubangi, formerly the Golden West. Note the large decorated stage.
The Golden West Hotel is the building on the left, with a marquee in front, not the building with “GOLDEN WEST HOTEL” written on the edge of the roof. Over the years, the Golden West hosted three jazz clubs: the Golden West, the Little Harlem and the Ubangi. (Source: Bicentennial Oral History Program, Black Project, 1975-1976, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, digitalarchives.wa.gov, accessed September 30, 2024)
Ad, The Northwest Enterprise, June 28, 1934.
Ad, The Seattle Times, ad June 4, 1936.
The Little Harlem wound down at the end of 1935, but in June 1936, Noodles reopened the venue as an even fancier place with potted palms and occasional national acts, even spending money to advertise the entertainers in The Seattle Times. Called the Ubangi, the posh new venue kicked off with Los Angeles band leader Les Hite, along with New York vaudeville dancers Williams and Williams. College grads were among the folks who celebrated at the Ubangi, dancing to the music of Gene Coy (who earlier had whisked Seattle saxophonist Dick Wilson off to Texas) and vocalists Eddie Rucker, Zelma Winslow and Evelyn Williamson (who later joined Hampton). The chorus line was a regular item in The Northwest Enterprise, which on July 19, 1937, reported: “The Ubangi patrons get quite a kick out of Junior Raglin when he picks up his dog house (string bass) and trucks on down with those swing numbers. Our scout tells us the floor show is veddy veddy good this week. Marking an all-time high in a string of good shows.”
Bruce Rowell, man about town and sometime alto saxophonist, helped Noodles run the Ubangi and was also responsible for managing the Ubangi Blackhawks, a football team mounted by the club. Alas, all good things come to an end. In February 1939, the Golden West Hotel was sold and the Ubangi closed. But it went out with a bang, bringing Hite back for a return, farewell engagement. The Northwest Enterprise lamented the loss of the club as a major source of Black employment on the West Coast.
Ad, The Northwest Enterprise, July 2, 1937.
The Golden West Hotel, 2024.
The 410 address is on the left.