By Sharon Davis
The Savoy Ballroom underwent many renovations and redecorations over the decades that it was open. From studying archival photographs I have identified five distinctly different interior decors between 1926 and 1958 (read my renovation research here). We have chosen to recreate the Savoy Ballroom in our virtual reality project as it looked between 1936 and 1941.
On this page I will try to take you on a photographic tour of the space via the photographs we will be using to help us model The Savoy in virtual reality, looking at specific details of the decoration, furniture and structure of the ballroom.
Why the late 1930’s period?
We have chosen to recreate the Savoy Ballroom as it looked from the 1936 renovation (the ballroom re-opened after these works on 12th September 1936) until around 1941. There are a number of reasons we have chosen this period to focus on.
Firstly, this period was the height of the Savoy’s success and popularity. With this decor, the ballroom witnessed the legendary band battles between house band Chick Webb and visiting orchestras Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. A young Ella Fitzgerald’s career blossomed in this period, having joined Chick Webb’s band at the Savoy around 1935. This period was the height of popularity & success for the Savoy’s elite team of dancers, Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, as they represented The Savoy dancing across the country on stage and screen. And this was how The Savoy looked at the time of Chick Webb’s death in 1939.
Secondly and more simply, some of the best photographic evidence we have is from this period. Recreating the Savoy Ballroom in virtual reality requires attention to details of the building and decor that have not posed particular interest to historians up to now. Since the flamboyant dancers and famous musicians were the usual attraction for photographers that visited The Savoy, evidence of the mundane details of the ballroom itself are hard to come by. What little photographic record we have of the features of the space is mostly from this period.
Getting a Sense of the Whole Room
From “Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2”, a promotional newspaper that the Savoy Ballroom published. Original caption read “A general view of The Savoy showing the spacious lounging room and boxes. The bandstands can be seen at right.” 
From “Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2”.Original caption read “A corner of the Savoy showing one of the famous murals.” 
From “Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2”.Original caption read “A newly laid floor inviting you to dance” 
1941 Savoy Ballroom souvenir postcard 
1941 photograph showing the bandstand and dance floor, known as “The Track”. 
1938 packed ballroom. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29.
The Details
Jump to:
The Building Exterior & the Marquee
The outside of the building and the famous marquee above the entrance did not change drastically across the decades, so I have included here photographs from the late 1930s into the 1950s.
Undated – External View Of Savoy Ballroom From Corner Of Lenox Avenue & 140th Street. Source- Unknown 
1937 Savoy Ballroom external view June 1937, source – William Russell Jazz Collection, Williams Research Center, The Historic New Orleans Collection 
1937 – Savoy Ballroom Marquee. Source unknown. 
1938 – Marquee Advertising Maple Leaf Pinochle Club Lindy Hop Contest. Source – Photo By George Karger, Pix Inc For LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 
1939/40 – Savoy Ballroom Marquee In The Day Time, Original Colour Photograph, Not Retouched Source- Unknown 
1947 – Underside Of The Savoy Ballroom Marquee. Source- Hulton Archive, Getty Images No 3208894 
1947 – Savoy Ballroom exterior. Source – Magnum Photos, Collection F. Driggs (ID PAR120036) 
1947 – Savoy Ballroom, source – Magnum Photos, Collection F Driggs, Reference PAR120036 
1950 – External View Of The Savoy Ballroom Decorated For Christmas Circa 1950. Source – Estate Of Austin Hansen, Held By NYPL Digital Collections (Image ID 1694961) 
1950s – External View Taken By Austin Hansen Sometime In The 1950s. Source- Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, NYPL Image ID 1702781, Courtesy Of The Estate Of Austin Hansen
The Street Entrance
1938 Marquee Advertising Maple Leaf Pinochle Club Lindy Hop Contest. Source – Photo By George Karger, Pix Inc For LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images 
1938 Queuing in the winter snow for admission. Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p27.
The Twin Bandstands
1939 – Benny Carter & His Orchestra at the Savoy. Source – Benny Carter Collection. 
1939 – Benny Carter & His Orchestra. Source – Benny Carter Collection. 
1937 – photograph by Aaron Siskind, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Aaron Siskind Foundation. 
1940 Cootie Williams with the Duke Ellington Band at the Savoy Ballroom. Source – Frank Driggs Collection, Corbis. 
1941 – Savoy Ballroom interior. Source unknown. 
Mid-1930s. Source – Bettman, Getty Images (ID 517331342). 
Undated – Bassist Jimmy Blanton, Duke Ellington seated. Source – Collection F. Driggs, Magnum Photos (Reference PAR61864). 
(likely 1941) – Sister Rosetta Tharpe with Lucky Millinder. Source unknown. 
Undated (likely 1937/8) – Ella Fitzgerald singing with Chick Webb’s band sometime before his death in 1939. Source unknown. 
1938 John ‘Tiny’ Bunch at the Savoy Ballroom, 1938, photo by Morgan and Marvin Smith. 
Source unknown. 
Mid 1930s Source – Bettmann Collection, Getty Images ID 517331342 
Early 1940s – Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra on The Savoy Ballroom bandstand. Gale Agency Inc was Savoy-owner Moe Gale’s music booking agency. Source – Hogan Jazz Archive.
The Stairwell
1940 The stairwell sits behind the central column as onlookers watch the show on the danceefloor. Music Makers Magazine “Stompin’ At The Savoy” by Ted Farah photos by Barry p34-35. 
1940 The stairwell sits behind the central column as onlookers watch the show on the danceefloor. Music Makers Magazine “Stompin’ At The Savoy” by Ted Farah photos by Barry p34-35. 
1940 The stairwell sits behind the central column as onlookers watch the show on the danceefloor. Music Makers Magazine “Stompin’ At The Savoy” by Ted Farah photos by Barry p34-35. 
1938 people mill around the stairwell. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29. 
1938 Hostesses sit against the stairwell wall near the hostess booth. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p28.
Hostess Booth
Up to 1943, the Savoy Ballroom was renowned for its “hostesses” – attractive, well-dressed and well-mannered young ladies in the employ of the ballroom, who could teach you the latest dance steps or simply give you the pleasure of their company on the dancefloor – at a price of three dances for 25 cents. Dance partners for hire, sometimes referred to as “taxi dancers”. The hostess booth in the Savoy was by the stairwell.
Taxi dance booth location highlighted on the 1941 Savoy Ballroom postcard 
1938 Taxi Dance Booth at Savoy Ballroom in Harlem (photo by George Karger) 
1938 Hostesses sitting along the wall by the hostess booth. Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p27. 
1938 people standing around the hostess booth, the dance floor and bandstand in the background, lounge chairs to the right. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29.
The Lounge Chairs
A sailor sleeps in a chair at the Savoy Ballroom ca 1945 
People dozing in the rear-most lounge chairs, with the “loges” seen in the background. Photo source unknown. 
1938 Relaxing in the lounge chairs. Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p28 
1938 A glimpse of the back of a lounge chair, near the hostess booth. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29.
The Boxes
Undated, labelled 1930s. Source – Bettman, Getty Images (ID 515449144). 
Undated (likely 1942 – 1947). Moe Gale and Charles Buchanan (co-owners of The Savoy) seated in a box. Source unknown, courtesy of Jeff Kauffman. 
1940 Source – Acme Newspictures. 
1936 (LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger) 
1938 Photo by George Karger for LIFE Magazine (source Getty Images ID 53370724). 
Date & source unknown. 
Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p27. 
1938 Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p28.
The Loges
People dozing in the rear-most lounge chairs, with the loges seen in the background. Date & source unknown. 
1942 – this photograph shows a later redecoration of The Savoy, including the flamboyant wallpaper from the 1941 redecoration. But I’ve included it here as it is a rare photo of the loges tables. Taken at the Harlem Beaux Arts Ball on 16 March 1942, photo by Weegee (Arthur Fellig), International Center of Photography, Getty Images. View of the loges along the left side wall of the ballroom (the Lenox Avenue wall). Photo from Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2.
The Ceiling
1941 photograph showing the bandstand and dance floor, known as “The Track”. 
1936 Source – LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger. 
1936 Source – LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger. 
1941 The Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, including Frankie Manning, put on a show at the Savoy. Source – Granger Historical Picture Archive (id 0170405).
The Columns
Savoy Ballroom Postcard c.1941 
1936. Source – LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger. 
1936. Source – LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger. Undated, labelled 1930s. Source – Bettman, Getty Images (ID 515449144). 
1930s Cootie Williams playing trumpet with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (source Bettmann collection, Getty images ID 517322608). 
Source unknown. 
Undated. Benny Goodman plays at the Savoy Ballroom, courtesy of Frank Driggs Collection.
The Carpet
1940 Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra. Unknown part of the ballroom. Source unknown. 
1938 people seated in the lounge chairs. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p28. 
Savoy Carpet Study by Richard Yarde in pen & ink, 1981. 
Photo from Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2. 
Herbert “Whitey” White and members of the 400 Club pose in front of one of the famed murals. Exact location in the building unknown. Source – Click Magazine 1940.
Cat’s Corner
The 141st Street end of the dancefloor was where the elite Savoy Ballroom dancers danced in what was known as “The Corner” or “Cat’s Corner”. When facing the bandstand, Cat’s Corner was to the left of the band. Oddly, this is the corner of the ballroom that is the least photographed.
1938 , photo by George Karger. 
1939 (LIFE Magazine 15 May 1939) 
1941 Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers including Frankie Manning performing for the crowd. (Source – Granger Historical Picture Archive id 0170405) 
1938 Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29. 
140th Street-side Windows
On either side of the bandstand were windows fitted with wooden blinds. There is a built-in bench in front of the blinds and a ruffled/corrugated valance at the top. The most clear photographs show the windows on the 140th Street side of the bandstand.
1941 Ann Johnson and Frankie Manning performing an airstrip. Photograph by W. Eugene Smith. May 1941. 
1941 Frankie Manning and the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. Source: LIFE Magazine 1941. 
1941 1st January. Photo by Ullstein Bild, published by ‘Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung’, Getty Images (id 541783991). 
Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p27.
141st Street-side Windows & Exit
The 141st Street side of the dancefloor had two sets of windows with blinds and benches just like the other side of the bandstand, but with a slightly wider gap between them. There was also two steps up to an exit door (labelled Exit 3 in my floorplan).
The above photograph is from 1947 with a later decor (ie: the padded wall panels behind the musicians), but it shows us the blinds pulled up revealing the windows on the left hand side. (Source Getty Images ID 83777884). 
Again, this 1947 photograph shows a later decoration of the Savoy, but shows us Exit 3 next to the bandstand. Source – Getty Images ID 1092662214.
Chick Webb’s drum kit
1938 Bandleader Chick Webb playing the drums 
1938 Bandleader Chick Webb playing the drums 
1936 Chick Webb’s drum kit can be seen on the band stand, though not yet with the painted caricature. Source – LIFE Magazine 14 December 1936, photo by George Karger. 
1938 Chick Webb’s drum can be seen on the bandstand. Source – PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p26.
The Electric Fans
There were electric fans mounted on the walls around the ballroom.
1938 an electric fan near the hostess booth. Source: PIC Magazine 5 April 1938, “Dance Drunk Harlem” p29. 
1947 – A later decoration of the ballroom, but the electric fans appear unchanged. Source – Stringer Collection, Getty Images ID 1092662170. 
1947 – A later decoration of the ballroom, but the electric fans appear unchanged. Source – Stringer Collection, Getty Images ID 1092662200. 
1956 – A later decoration of the ballroom, but the electric fans appear unchanged. Source: photo by Mario De Biasi/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images.
The Murals
1940 Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra. Unknown part of the ballroom. Source unknown. Photo from Savoy News, Volume 1 No 2.Original caption read “A corner of the Savoy showing one of the famous murals.” Herbert “Whitey” White and the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers pose in the foyer of the Savoy Ballroom, in front of one of the famed murals. Source – Click Magazine 1940.