The Northeast Louisiana Music Trail will unveil a marker honoring the Savoy Ballroom in the historic 1929 Miller-Roy Building. The Marker will be unveiled on October 12 at 4:30 P.M. and will feature a concert by Robert Wright and a history presentation about the ballroom.
The event features guest speakers connected to the rehabilitation of the building into apartments, including the addition of the new adjacent Bayou Savoy apartment building.
The third floor featured the Savoy Ballroom, eventually a stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, hosting acts such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and his orchestra, Turner Bradshaw, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and the Andy Kirk Band, Marie Knight, the Nina McKenzie Group, the Lucky Miller Band, Rosetta Tharpe and Ethel Waters.
While the Miller-Roy building thrived in the 1930s and '40s, by the 1970's it was considered an abandoned piece of north Louisiana history. After a 2010 Monroe City Council vote for demolition seemed to seal the fate of the historic structure, the Miller-Roy building was added to the National Historic Register in 2011, bringing a glimmer of hope for future possibilities.
A 5,000 square foot community resource center is now located on the first floor of the building for nonprofit organizations to help with connection to community resources such as access to safe and affordable financial products, asset ownership programs, credit improvement services, financial coaching and education, free tax preparation assistance, screening and referrals for homeless services, housing stability counseling, incentivized savings programs, workforce development soft skills, employment opportunities and job training.
The unveiling will feature live music by Robert Wright.