Yesterday marked the birthday of the legendary #jazzsinger Billie Holiday, who was born on April 7, 1915

We are highlighting the historic, LENOX LOUNGE, which became a hot spot for after-hours jam sessions, boasting performances by jazz legends 🎶 including Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

The Lenox Lounge was founded in 1939 and when Alvin Reed purchased the Lenox Lounge in 1988 from Dominic Greco, the bar no longer had live musical performances, but was functioning just as a nightclub with a live DJ. Alvin Reed decided to reopen the Lounge as a live #jazz venue and worked closely with a design firm to restore much of the clubs original #ArtDeco interior. The famous “Zebra Room” where live music was played nightly, had 1940s swinging glass-and-wood double doors, black leather banquettes, cozy tables, zebra-print walls and a space for the band to the right. The first banquette to the left, next to the band, was Billie Holiday’s booth, a space that was once reserved weekly for the singer herself.

Sadly the lounge closed at the end of December in 2012 after a huge rent increase and the building which housed Lenox Lounge was demolished in 2017. Photo and full text appear in our book, “New York Nights”.