Venues

Although many of the venues in which the pioneering teams of the Black Fives Era played no longer exist or are out of use, they are worth celebrating. Here are some of the most noteworthy among them.

  • 8th Regiment Armory
    Chicago
  • 12th Street Colored YMCA
    District of Columbia
  • 14th Regiment Armory
    Brooklyn
  • Chicago Stadium
    Chicago
  • Public Stadium
    Cleveland
  • Int’l Amphitheater
    Chicago
  • Knickerbocker Courts
    Brooklyn
  • Union Labor Temple
    Pittsburgh
  • Madison Street Armory
    Chicago
  • Manhattan Casino
    Harlem
  • Olympic Auditorium
    Los Angeles
  • St. Philip’s Parish House
    Harlem
  • Renaissance Ballroom
    Harlem
  • Savoy Ballroom
    Chicago
  • True Reformer’s Hall
    District of Columbia
  • Joe Turner’s Arena
    District of Columbia
  • Wabash Colored YMCA
    Chicago
  • Washington Park
    Pittsburgh

These arenas, ballrooms, church gymnasiums, armories, and other spaces—often just improvised courts—made the games themselves possible. Furthermore, these venues enabled growing numbers of basketball fans to watch, cheer, and participate in the progress of their local teams, visiting squads, and the overall evolution of the game itself.