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“Harlem of the West” is an exhibition of select images from the monograph and curatorial project authored by Lewis Watts and Elizabeth Pepin. The photographs chronicle the nightlife of San Francisco's Fillmore District in the 1940s and 1950s when it was known as the "Harlem of the West." Jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and Billie Holiday shared their music in the clubs, restaurants, and theaters that enlivened the neighborhood. This exhibition presents rare archival photographs from that lively chapter in jazz history and the African American community. Photographers include David Johnson (b. 1926), Jerry Stoll (1923-2004), and others belonging to the Saunders King Estate Collection and the Wesley F. Johnson Ill Collection. These photographs belong to the San Francisco Arts Commission Airport Collection. This temporary exhibition provides an opportunity for all Airport visitors to view the photographs prior to their rotation in SFO Museum's Ruth Kadish Gallery, located in the post-security connector between Terminals 2 and 3.
This image was posted on February 22, 2022.