![]() ![]() ![]() Famed civil rights activist Homer Plessy, whose 1892 challenge to segregation laws in New Orleans resulted in the Supreme Court’s infamous “separate but equal” ruling of Plessy v Ferguson, was an officer of the society. KANSAS CITY JAZZ ORCHESTRA LIBERTY HALL WINDOWSLa Société des Francs Amis (roughly, The Society of True Friends) bought this lot in 1861, and built the hall later in the 1800s (the gothic arched windows were probably early 20th century additions). “Wooden” Joe Nicholas, Hypolite Charles, and singer Lizzie Miles also performed here. The club was popular with musicians, who earned $2.00 per engagement and ate and drank for free, according to Ricard Alexis, who played with Henry “Kid” Rena. It usually featured dance bands such as the John Robichaux Orchestra, the Superior Orchestra, and the Olympia Orchestra, but “hotter” uptown bands that included Pops Foster and Lee Collins reportedly played here as well. Cyr called it “a place of dignity” for downtown Creole society. ![]() It was then called Fern Café #2.įrancs Amis Hall was a social dance hall, primarily for wealthy and light-complexioned Creoles of color where many great jazz bands played. Originally, The Pup Café, was ‘the’ spot of the town where visiting vaudeville actors gathered to talk shop, to drink and to listen to jazz. The refreshment stand was the gathering place where the 'hostesses' and the men came between dances. Each had gambling and many other similarities. The Fern usually had the bigger crowd, perhaps due to the fact that the Fern was on the corner with the refreshment stand and the cigar stand in the front portion of the establishment with the lunch counter inside the vestibule of the hall. The LaVida had a larger gambling room, three tables full, where stakes started at 50 cents and moved upwards. Musicians called the Fern the Budweiser-due to the sign that hung from the front of the building. One was called the LaVida, the other the Fern. Two popular dance halls were next to each other on Iberville Street, between Rampart and Burgundy. ![]()
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