Downtown Oakland in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Uptown Saturday Night
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 10, 2020
1. Uptown Saturday Night Marker
Inscription.
Uptown Saturday Night. . Live performance venues and movie theaters once lined the streets downtown, with at least a dozen as late as the 1950s. Many initially featured vaudeville acts and silent films. The Fox and the Paramount are the only two that remain as theaters today. A few other structures remain, but with different faces, some recognizable, some not. These include the Dufwin on 17th Street, the Pantages on 12th Street, and the Lux and the Hippodrome on Broadway.
Though Downtown never had the concentration of blues and jazz clubs once found on 7th Street in West Oakland, Sweet's Ballroom was "The East Bay Home of the Big Bands.” Performers included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Tito Puente, Perez Prado and Xavier Cugat.
Live performance venues and movie theaters
once lined the streets downtown, with at least a
dozen as late as the 1950s. Many initially featured
vaudeville acts and silent films. The Fox and
the Paramount are the only two that remain as
theaters today. A few other structures remain,
but with different faces, some recognizable,
some not. These include the Dufwin on 17th
Street, the Pantages on 12th Street, and the Lux
and the Hippodrome on Broadway.
Though Downtown never had the concentration of
blues and jazz clubs once found on 7th Street
in West Oakland, Sweet's Ballroom was "The East
Bay Home of the Big Bands.” Performers included
Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie,
Frank Sinatra, Tito Puente, Perez Prado and
Xavier Cugat.
Location. 37° 48.337′ N, 122° 16.234′ W. Marker is in Oakland, California, in Alameda County. It is in Downtown Oakland. Marker is at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Broadway, on the left when traveling south on Telegraph Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oakland CA 94612, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. General Strike! (here, next to this marker); Crossroads (here, next
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, November 10, 2020
2. Uptown Saturday Night Marker - wide view, looking north (with Cathedral Building in background)
The marker is visible here in the lefthand row, furthest out.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 195 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 21, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.