January 26, 1934: The Apollo Theater Opens

January 26, 1934: The Apollo Theater is opened under that name. It has become the defining performing arts venue for black Americans, both performers and customers. Everyone from Duke Ellington to Lizzo has played it.

Jules Hurtig and Harry Seamon opened it in 1913, at 253 West 125th Street, as a burlesque venue -- for white customers and performers only, even as the Harlem neighborhood around it was shifting from a German to a black neighborhood. In 1928, the Minsky brothers took over. In 1934, Sidney Cohen acquired it, and made it a venue for black customers and performers.

Frank Schiffman and his family operated the theater from 1935 to 1976. A group of black businessmen briefly operated the theater from 1978 to 1979, and former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton bought it at an auction in 1981. The Apollo reopened in 1985, following a major refurbishment that saw the construction of new recording studios. In September 1991, the New York State Urban Development Corporation bought the Apollo. Further renovations took place in the mid-2000s, and an expansion of the theater was undertaken in the early 2020s.

Among the theater's longest-running events is Amateur Night at the Apollo, a weekly show where audiences judge the quality of novice performances. Amateur Nights were held every Wednesday evening, and broadcast on the radio over WMCA (570 on the AM dial) and 11 affiliate stations. The shows attracted audiences of all races. Amateur Nights performances were showcased in the TV series Showtime at the Apollo, which ran from 1987 to 2008, and was relaunched in 2018.

Several performers recorded live albums there, most notably James Brown in 1962: Live at the Apollo, recorded on October 24, 1962 and released on May 1, 1963, has been cited by some music publications as the greatest live album of all time. The Godfather of Soul became so identified with the Apollo that, when he died on Christmas Day 2006, his coffin lay in repose on the Theater's stage as visitors passed by.

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January 26, 1934 was a Friday. Huey "Piano" Smith, an early rock and roll star, who surely must have played the Apollo at least once, was born on that day. So was Bob Uecker, a mediocre baseball player who became a beloved broadcaster and actor.

Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And no games were scheduled for the NHL. So there were no scores on this historic day.