Utah In Focus

Like some other images in our collection, this photograph of a happy social scene circa the 1950s came to us with no identifying details. Note the stark contrast between the glamor of the individuals and the garage-like setting where they staged a live concert. The location may be attributed to segregation that forced the Black community to live and socialize at venues apart from those frequented by the white middle class. Society’s imposed limitations did not stop Blacks from developing their own communities and social lives, primarily in Salt Lake City and Ogden where they concentrated. They organized social centers and clubs and held formal dances at Black-owned establishments, like the Porter’s and Waiter’s Club on the south end of 25th Street in Ogden. In Salt Lake City, the Black community frequented another Porter’s and Waiter’s Club, the Redwood Ranch, Dixie Land, Pink Lady, and Jazz Bo.

For more information on the Black community at midcentury, see Ronald G. Coleman’s history in The Peoples of Utah (1976), France A. Davis’s essay in Beehive History (1999), and Christine Cooper-Rompato’s article on the “Green Book” in Utah Historical Quarterly (winter 2020). If anyone has details about this particular photograph, please reach out to us at uhq@utah.gov.