Black Orchid

The building located at 1026 West Atkinson Avenue has a long history as a tavern, dating back to the early 1940s. In 1946, Norton Considine, the operator of Considine’s Tavern—which occupied the space at the time—was fined $5 for allowing music to be played after hours. According to police, a paid piano player was performing at 12:50 a.m. on a Monday, 20 minutes after the deadline. Considine said he had simply “failed to notice the clock.” By the mid-1960s, it had become the Black Orchid, and local jazz artists such as Jimmy Colvin and Beverly Pitts performed there. By 1980, it had become Smitty’s Disco.