Talk:Smalls Paradise

Things removed
I'm the one that wrote this article, and it has been much added to and improved. But things that I think should be here have been taken out:


 * The reference I provided to a program of the Club, which documented its correct name (Smalls Paradise, not Small's or Smalls'), is gone.
 * The statement that it claimed to have the only working air conditioning in Harlem has been removed.
 * That Malcolm X and Langston Hughes hung out there has been removed.

That it was "the only integrated venue in Harlem" is too weak. It was the only one in New York City and the State of New York. In fact I can't think offhand of another one of this antiquity anywhere in the United States.

Also "subject to integration" doesn't put it right. No one was pressuring Smalls to integrate. deisenbe (talk) 17:23, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

The name seems to be clearly stated. The only working air conditioning in Harlem is trivial IMO. The article mentions Malcolm X.♦ Dr. Blofeld  21:24, 11 March 2016 (UTC)
 * It sounds now like all he did there was wait tables. deisenbe (talk) 21:29, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

Name
Are we sure that the place was "often erroneously called Small's Paradise and Smalls' Paradise"? A quick flick through classified ads via ProQuest results shows that it advertised itself using any of the three in the early 1940s, as "Smalls Paradise" in the early 1950s, and as "Smalls' Paradise" in the mid-1950s and into the early 1960s. Or is the argument that the typesetters got it wrong? Either way, the "erroneously" needs considerable justification, given the conflicting evidence. EddieHugh (talk) 14:13, 12 March 2016 (UTC)


 * This is a photo of the club's marquee prior to 1955, when Ed Smalls sold to Tommy Smalls. You see no apostrophe on the sign; would believe that Ed Smalls would have spoken up if the sign was in error and not allowed it to stay "as is" for the 30 years he owned the club. We hope (talk) 14:23, 12 March 2016 (UTC)


 * This is a photo of the marquee after Wilt Chamberlain owned the club. You see no apostrophe in "Smalls" either. We hope (talk) 14:35, 12 March 2016 (UTC)


 * From further reading, I found that the first photo of the marquee dates from around 1928. It's shown here, along with an updated marquee from circa 1940.  This was during the time Ed Smalls owned the club; if it was not correct, he made no changes to it when the stylized marquee was added. We hope (talk) 14:49, 12 March 2016 (UTC)

Yes, we've established that the marquee said "Smalls" (although there's also this photo, possibly of the same place, which has "The Small's Paradise"). The equivalent outside the Blue Note has "Blue Note" and "Blue Note Jazz Club", so a sign alone can't be taken to be sufficient. We've also established that newspaper advertising for SP used all three, perhaps at different times. It's hard to justify the use of "erroneously" when the club itself appears to have used those forms. Wouldn't it be better to give an account, perhaps in a footnote, of the variations and where they appeared, as "erroneously" at the moment is an assumption? EddieHugh (talk) 15:59, 12 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I've removed the word erroneously. This was original wording when it was started but without any citation(s) to prove that "Smalls Paradise" was the correct name of the venue.  While researching the club, I've seen all three versions of the name used, even on material produced for the club.  This is the back of the postcard used in the article.  It was produced when Ed Smalls owned the club and was obviously produced to promote the club by the wording on the back.  All 3 were used frequently. We hope (talk) 16:27, 12 March 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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The air conditioning
Does everyone agree that the claim to have the only working air conditioning in Harlem is trivial? (See above.) We all take air conditioning for granted (in the U.S. at least). So I think it's more important than one might realize at first glance. If one lived in a tenement, on a hot summer night (and remember that New York, like all cities, is a center of heat), an air conditioned facility would be attractive. Movie theaters put up signs saying "It's cool inside!"

(If anyone shares my interest in the history of technology, these systems were using ammonia, not Freon, and were far too expensive for a typical home.) deisenbe (talk) 13:57, 8 February 2018 (UTC)