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Meyers Ace Hardware (Sunset Café)

This is an archived listing.

Address

315 E. 35th St.

Neighborhood

Bronzeville

Architect

1909

Website

facebook.com

Description

This former auto garage was converted into the legendary Sunset Cafe jazz club in 1921. The club was once owned by Louis Armstrong himself—and for a while—Al Capone. Jazz greats like Earl Hines, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman played at the Sunset (later known as the Grand Terrace Cafe). The modest building served as a political office before eventually becoming a hardware store. It's not uncommon for visitors from around the world to make a pilgrimage to Meyers Ace Hardware to see the old jazz stage and unique mural hidden in an unexpected place.

Archived In

2015