“Let the Good Times Roll”

“Let the Good Times Roll”. . When Ray Charles came to town, the good times rolled. In the late 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, this brick building was Finley's Recreation Center, a dance hall that brought some of the soon-to-be-famous Black musicians to perform for Black audiences. Residents remember Little Richard and Lloyd Price, local swing and R&B bands, barn dances, and jitterbug contests. In the daytime, neighborhood children roller-skated on the dance floor and Douglas School boys and girls practiced basketball. In the evenings local clubs held meetings and parties here, including the Douglas prom. Finley's, built in 1938 and operated by African American dentist Dr. Taylor W. Finley, was the social center of Black Winchester for decades. Subsequent owners have continued this community service tradition, and the good times still roll., “What we preserve of our heritage is all we know of ourselves. What we preserve of our heritage is a remembrance of the past and a commitment to the future.” -Lucille Long, North End citizen who once won dance contests at Finley's, reminiscing in 2004. , This marker was created as a collaboration between Winchester-Frederick County Tourism and the Local Black History Task Force., (captions) , George's Place continued the dance hall tradition in the 1970s. , Virginia Informer, August 1, 1939 , Winchester Evening Star, April 27, 1939 , Virginia Informer, August 1, 1939 , Northern Virginia Daily, June 8, 1939 , Photos courtesy of the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives of the Handley Regional Library and the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society.