Although Small’s Paradise is empty now, at 2294 H Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Boulevard, on the southwest corner of 135th Street, was Ed Small’s Paradise, one of Harlem’s most popular jazz clubs and restaurants from the 1920s to the 1940s. Those who could afford the prices at the “Hottest Spot in Harlem” would be treated to music, elaborate floor shows, and singing waiters. The small dance floor at Small’s Paradise got so crowded that each patron was said to have a dime’s worth of floor space for dancing. In the 1960s, basketball star Wilt Chamberlain reopened the restaurant as part-owner of Big Wilt’s Small’s Paradise on the 19th, of August in 1964, Harlem, NY, New York, USA. The photo shows exterior of Big Wilt’s Smalls Paradise Restaurant on West 135th and 7th Avenue.
In the NY Times story “Wilt, 1962,” it was said,
“When Wilton Norman Chamberlain moved through Big Wilt’s Smalls Paradise, there attached to him an aura suggesting he owned not only this place, but all of Harlem, perhaps all of New York. His presence in the club was signaled by the white Cadillac parked out front by one of the nightclub boys on the corner of 135th Street, while Chamberlain strode around the club’s dark interior greeting his guests, draping an arm around Tom “Satch” Sanders of the Boston Celtics, squeezing a shoulder, “Good to see you, Satch. Sit down, relax, and enjoy yourself.” Reminiscing years later, the Dipper would recall this as the greatest time in his life.
At Big Wilt’s Smalls Paradise, the bandleader King Curtis worked deep into the night, and the denizens turned up wearing sharkskin suits and memorable monikers: Big Pete, Little Pete, an intellectual straight shooter known as Knowledge, and of course, Charlie Polk, Wilt’s right-hand man, always at his side, Robin to his Batman. His name, called out so often, rolled off the Dipper’s tongue: Chollypolk. Small and thin as straw, Polk was, as one Harlem nightclub regular would say, “one of those types of guys who if he latched on to you, he didn’t let go.” Whatever the Dipper wanted-his shirts picked up at the cleaners, his friend’s wife picked up at the bus stop and taken shopping-Chollypolk got it done. When a beautiful woman at Smalls caught the Dipper’s eye, Chollypolk became his emissary, quietly letting the woman know of his boss’s interest and gauging her availability. He loved being on stage at the club, and though he couldn’t sing or dance and he stuttered slightly, he was a riotous emcee. If you put a microphone in his hand, Chollypolk might never let go of it, and Redd Foxx would sit beside the stage, waiting, waiting to begin his gig.
The new club closed in the 1980′s, but Wilt was a man with vision who invested in Harlem when Harlem needed it, something that seems to be lost. Wilt was the man who invested in Harlem when Harlem need
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I remember the late great Charlie Polk, Jamilah would hire him just to introduce us.
I only remembered it as Small’s Since I stopped taking the #2 bus in 1964 sothanks for the update. Also moved to The Bronx that year. Sorry to hear it’s vacant. So manypeople’s precious memories rattling around in there.
I remember the late great Charlie Polk. This dude epitomized the essence of swagger and of harlem. He was so bad that Jamilah would hire him just to introduce us at gigs.
This address looks to be an International House of Pancakes now. The image looks to be the space next to it, or part of the current restaurant. Great story!
SMALL’S, DICKEY’S, BABY GRAND, MINTON PLAYHOUSE, AND CLUBS AROUND ROY’S PLACE WERE COOL WATER SPOTS FOR ME DURING THE 50′S AND 60′S. YOU CONTINUE TO BRING BACK MEMORIES FOR ME…THANK YOU.
Sounds like great moments.
Thank you,
HW
Only the images and memories have lasted.
Thank you,
HW
Have not heard Mr. Polk’s name, he sounds amazing.
Thank you,
HW
We’ll check into that more.
Thank you,
HW
My granddfather Gene Tyler was Eddie Smalls’ best friend nad club manager for over 40 years. I grew up in the place. What a joint! My grandmother was the secretary. Someone should open it up again!
Darre,
We keep great stories about the place.
Thanks,
HW
Where did Wilt live in Harlem?
Marc,
Good question, we’re trying to find the answer to your question.
Thanks,
Daniel
For the record my uncle(Big Pete McDougal),was the other owner of Small’s with Wilt.
Hi Dana, That’s right and I remember your uncle. I was playing with guitar with Lonnie Youngblood and the Bloodbrothers back in 1968 on up till the early 1970′s and again in the latter part of the decade. And Small’s was our home base. And your uncle was the owner that I remember at that time.
Believe it or not it was home to another group I was working with by the name of “East Coast” back in 1974 so I am intimately familiar with the club
both upstairs and downstairs.
Charles,
Thank you for sharing such an amazing history. If you would like to write about the history we would love to share it with our readers.
HW