VOCAL JAZZ ROOM

The vocal jazz mural pays tribute to a young Ella Fitzgerald singing with Chick Webb’s band at Chicago’s Chez Paree Hotel ballroom, which opened in 1932. The Chez Paree closed in 1960 – singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé were the last to perform. Going through the alphabet, everyone who was anyone performed here. Louis Armstrong, Morey Amsterdam, Pearl Bailey, Joey Bishop, Tony Bennett, Red Buttons, Cab Calloway, Cyd Charisse, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Connie Francis, Jackie Gleason, Joel Grey, Woody Herman,  Lena Horne, Mahalia Jackson, George Jessel, Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Liberace, Johnny Mathis, Gertrude Niesen, Helen O’Connell, Jane Powell, Louis Prima, Della Reese, Frank Sinatra…fill in between these names with every famous entertainer you’ve heard of and they probably performed at the Chez Paree also. 

The Chez Paree Ballroom in Chicago was an iconic venue that operated from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Located on the Near North Side it was one of the most glamorous nightclubs of its time, attracting high society and celebrities.

Although no longer in operation, Chez Paree remains an important part of Chicago’s cultural history and nightlife legacy. For more information read up on the Chez Paree in Facebook’s “Forgotten Chicago Discussion” page.

Window and the stage murals were painted by Scott Tucker and his daughter, Melissa Tucker. The vocalist portraits were painted by Diana Jelen of Winnsboro, Texas.