Summary: A continuation of the story of the Palace Park athletic/entertainment center that once existed in the back of the Allendale neighborhood of Shreveport from the 1910s to 1960s. Amenities available at various times over the years included the following:
- Baseball park, with covered grandstand seating 1,500 spectators
- Movie theater
- Dance hall/ballroom
- Skating rink
- Merry-go-round
Numerous athletic events including professional and amateur baseball, boxing, and football were held at the site. Baseball hall-of-famers Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, as well as Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens made appearances there. A night club on the premises, operating for many years under the Palace Park name, and later as Club 66; featured several notable musicians of the day, such as Louis Armstrong, T-Bone Walker, and B. B. King. Today an apartment complex for the elderly stands on the site.
See also Palace Park and Club 66 - Part I.
1947
High school football games scheduled at the park.
Also on the same page was mention of an upcoming baseball doubleheader featuring the Magnolia (Ark.) Termites vs. the Homer Hurricanes, followed by the Shreveport Black Sports against the Barksdale Jets.
Notice of a black rodeo to be held at the park.
Roy Brown was a black performer originally noted for sounding "white" (he once stated Bing Crosby was his favorite singer) who later switched to rhythm and blues. In an interview, Brown said operator Billy Riley offered him $125 per week, a very good salary for the time, which he easily accepted for what was his first gig. He described the place as appealing to both black and white clientele; and being "a big ballroom, away from Texas Street and Fanin (sic), which were downtown."
Brown singing his hit "Good Rocking Tonight." Elvis Presley also did an excellent cover of this song.
1948
Former Palace Park operator Billy Riley dies. A former boxer, wrestler, and official for those sports; he had recently been appointed to the state boxing commission by Governor Earl K. Long.
He is interred at Forest Park East Cemetery; Shreveport, LA.
1949
The club is burgled - just one of several times.
1950
Reported owner Willie Stewart, black male age 50, surrendered to police after allegedly shooting another man in the leg with a German Luger pistol. The wound was not considered serious.
Burglars strike once again.
Later in the year, Stewart was again in the news. This time it was disclosed he'd been restricted to cash-only purchases of alcohol due to not paying wholesalers within the prescribed time period.
1951
In 1951 the place was purchased by two white men, brothers Angelo and Joseph P. Roppolo.
Angelo Roppolo (1920-2012) pictured late in life. A bail bondsman and political consultant, more about his life can be found on his Wikipedia profile.
Below Joe Roppolo (1912-1978), incoming president, is shown being installed along with other officers of the Progressive Men's Club by Shreveport mayor Clyde Fant. Over his lifetime Roppolo, a World War II veteran, owned an insurance agency and served on the Caddo Parish Levee Board.
Palace Park Nite Club, Inc. was chartered, with 200 shares of stock having no par value.
In December, Joe Roppolo shot a man who had refused to leave the club. Hitting him above the knee, Roppolo claimed the man had an open knife in his possession.
1952
Joseph Roppolo is still listed as owner of Palace Park Nite Club in the 1952 Shreveport City Directory. Angelo is however linked to the St. John's Grocery and Market.
1953
Two men sitting is front of Palace Park Nite Club are robbed at gunpoint by three others. After ordering the victims to drive off, the robbers (presumably now with drinking money) reportedly entered the bar
Proprietors Silas Wyrick and Lawrence Patton applied for alcohol licenses for "New Palace Park."
Wyrick had earlier run the New Rainbow Cafe at 317 Douglas, and was listed back there in 1956. In the 1960s he ran a place called the Harlem Bar located at 1810 Milam.
Lawrence Robert Patton (1898-1971) was identified in the Shreveport Times 18-Jun-1948, Page 13 as a promoter who brought the Joe Lutchen Orchestra, "direct from Hollywood," to perform prior to a baseball game between Grambling College and Tuskegee Institute, and later at a dance honoring the teams held in the ballroom.
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Lawrence Robert Patton
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Source: Ancestry.com Contributor
Patton also operated Pat's Service Station on the corner of Milam and Lawrence Streets. Per his obituary, he had also owned a funeral home, and was a member of the Shreveport Negro Chamber of Commerce. He was also said to be "affiliated" with the Shreveport Captains, California Angels, and National Football League; though in what capacity was not disclosed.
1955
Club 66 was listed among businesses contributing to the fight against polio.
Robert Brown, later to become proprietor of Club 66, was identified as a porter at the Murphy Street Bar in the 1955 city directory. At that time he was living with wife Maude at 1116 Pierre Avenue.
Singer and bandleader Roy Milton performed at the club in June 1955.
Milton's recording R. M. Blues:
Linden, Texas is notable as the home of three musicians who have made significant contributions to American music - ragtime composer and musician Scott Joplin (~1867/68-1917), bluesman Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (1910-1975), and of course Don Henley (born 1947) of the Eagles and who has had a successful solo career.
In July, Walker appeared in a "battle of guitars" with "Guitar Sam."
Here he performs his most famous song, "(They) Call It Stormy Monday." sometimes referred to simply as "Stormy Monday." A (actually the) blues standard, it has been recorded by other blues artists (e.g., B. B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland) and rock groups (an excellent version is on the Allman Brothers Band's "Live At Filmore East"). Go to any blues club on any night, or go see any blues band (good or bad), and you will likely hear this number.
Little could be found about his competitor, "Guitar Sam" save for this Opelousas, La. record store advertisement (truncated here for brevity) where his recording are offered under the "Race" (Black) category. Later this genre would often be referred to as "Rhythm and Blues."
During a convention of the American Legion held in Shreveport, a dance for black Legionnaires was held at Club 66.
1956
An article about a master plan to address blight within Shreveport identified Allendale, including the (St. Paul) "bottoms" and Palace Park sectors, as a depreciating area.
Advertisement for a 25-Jul-1956 appearance by B. B. King at Club 66, posted in front of Stan's Record Shop.
Club 66 was at 1900 Clay Street, owned or leased by Robert Brown, per notice to sell alcoholic beverages.
1957
Another of the several times the place was burglarized.
Lawrence Patton, this time listed as sole proprietor, applied to sell alcoholic beverages.
The adjacent ball park is named after the club in a semipro baseball game recap.
An article about police shooting a man outside the club mentions a dance at the club.
1959
Eight men were convicted of various charges during three separate disturbances in 1959.
1960
The 1960 City Directory identified Robert D. Brown, living with wife Maude, as Club 'Sixty-Six" proprietor. Their address was listed as 1430 Ford Street.
1961
One last found notice of application by Brown to sell alcohol.
1962
James Brown, later dubbed "the hardest working man in show business," was scheduled to and presumably performed at Club 66 on 22-Jul-1962. Other members of his troupe included Little Yvonne Fair, Baby Loyd, The Famous Flames, Sextra Attraction, The Brownies, Dancing Dolls, and the James Brown Big Band.
This announcement for an appearance two days later in Jackson, Tennessee provided a then- contemporary photo.
"I Don't Mind" performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem that year.
A list of November-December appearance dates for blues legend B. B. King notes his played at the club on Dec. 11.
B. B. King performing 3 O'Clock Blues.
A reception and dance was scheduled for black members attending an American Legion convention held in Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium.
1965
Notice of a Jehovah's Witnesses meeting held at the club, and by that presumably no longer a bar, is the last mention of Club 66 found in the local newspaper; save for later historical references.
1978
In 1978, Canaan Towers was constructed on the site of Palace Park as housing for the elderly. 1900 Clay Street is no longer a viable street address. Instead, the complex's address is 400 North Dale Avenue (on the cross street).
Google Map view of the area:
Click link for Google Street View.
References In Later Publications
Woody Mann's Bottleneck Blues Guitar (Oak Publications, 1996), Page 119 includes a biographical profile of Oscar "Buddy" Woods (1900-1956), also known as the "Lone Wolf" and member of the Shreveport Home Wreckers. He once played for future governor and then country singer Jimmy Davis in a time when it was rare for black and white musicians to work together. The book states that when Woods recorded four tunes for the Library of Congress in 1940, "he was performing on Texas Avenue with a small combo, and appearing at a local dive known as Club 66." While it may have been the case that the name "Club 66" was used for an earlier establishment at another location, nothing was found to support this. Evidence of a place going by that name can be confirmed to have existed at 1900 Clay Street from 1955 to at least 1965.
In Shreveport Sounds in Black and White, by Kip Lornell and Tracey Laird (2008), Page 121, Shreveport native and later Nashville session musician, recording producer and executive Jerry Kennedy describes going to Club 66 as a teenager. There whites could attend, but were restricted to a glassed-in area that had room for approximately 12 persons, and not allowed to interact. He claimed seeing Jimmy Reed, Bobby Blue Bland, and Bo Diddley, and possibly Chuck Berry there. While none of these names appeared in sources reviewed (save Diddley, see below), they are certainly the type of musicians making the rounds in blues venues at the time. The club is however incorrectly stated to be located on Texas Street.
Shown below with fellow teenage performer Linda Brannon, Kennedy appeared locally during his teen years, including on the Louisiana Hayride.
Bo Diddley did appear at a dance at the American Legion hall on Cross Lake in 1958. Based on the advertisement below, this was very likely for a whites-only audience.
In an article appearing in the Jazz Archivist, Vol. 22 (2009), Page 33; Centenary College Archivist Chris Brown notes that black promoter Isaac "Ike" McKinney briefly managed the Paradise Nite Spot, located at Palace Park, which had a grand opening in 1938.
Former Southern University band director and Shreveport native Isaac Ben "Doc" Greggs, Jr. (1929-2014) recalled saving up 50 cents for admission to see Louis Armstrong perform an hour and a half set at Palace Park. Witnessing the event instilled a love for music in the then Allendale resident and middle school student.
Former Southern University band director and Shreveport native Isaac Ben "Doc" Greggs, Jr. (1929-2014) recalled saving up 50 cents for admission to see Louis Armstrong perform an hour and a half set at Palace Park. Witnessing the event instilled a love for music in the then Allendale resident and middle school student.
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| Dr. Greggs |
A 13-Nov-2014 Shreveport Times article (Page C4) titled "Shreveport Has a Long History with the Blues" states Charles Brown, Roy Brown, and T-Bone Walker played the "Palace Ballroom" in the 1940s. B. B. King, Ray Charles, and Lowell Folsun were said to have appeared at Club 66.
In a 09-Sep-2015 Times article about the Stan "the Record Man" Lewis Music Festival, held to honor the noted recording producer and retailer, it is stated that tickets to rhythm and blues shows at Palace Park and Club 66 were sold at his store.
Return to Palace Park and Club 66 - Part I
Return to Palace Park and Club 66 - Part I
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