Crawford Grill
Encyclopedia
Crawford Grill was a renowned jazz club in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, USA's Hill District. Its heyday was the 1930s to 1950s.
The club was founded by Gus Greenlee
, who first made his reputation as a numbers runner and racketeer, then later as the owner of the Negro League baseball team the Pittsburgh Crawfords
.
Music lovers flocked to the Crawford Grill to hear Billy Eckstine
, Sarah Vaughn, Erroll Garner
, Dizzy Gillespie
, and other legends of jazz. White musicians who played downtown venues would go uptown to "The Grill" after their gigs to jam into the night with black musicians. The Crawford Grill was a meeting spot for people of all colors who loved jazz.
The club's fourth incarnation, which re-opened in 2003 as "Crawford Grill on the Square" at Station Square
, closed in early 2006.
The Crawford Grill, which is a distinct building from the "Crawford Grill on the Square", was put up for sale in November 2006.
It received a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
in 2001.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA's Hill District. Its heyday was the 1930s to 1950s.
The club was founded by Gus Greenlee
Gus Greenlee
William Augustus "Gus" Greenlee was a Negro League baseball owner and an African American businessman....
, who first made his reputation as a numbers runner and racketeer, then later as the owner of the Negro League baseball team the Pittsburgh Crawfords
Pittsburgh Crawfords
The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Named after the Crawford Grill, a club in the Hill District of Pittsburgh owned by Gus Greenlee, the Crawfords were originally a youth semipro team sponsored by...
.
Music lovers flocked to the Crawford Grill to hear Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
, Sarah Vaughn, Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, and other legends of jazz. White musicians who played downtown venues would go uptown to "The Grill" after their gigs to jam into the night with black musicians. The Crawford Grill was a meeting spot for people of all colors who loved jazz.
The club's fourth incarnation, which re-opened in 2003 as "Crawford Grill on the Square" at Station Square
Station Square
Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, closed in early 2006.
The Crawford Grill, which is a distinct building from the "Crawford Grill on the Square", was put up for sale in November 2006.
It received a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...
in 2001.