The Elks Rendezvous, Harlem, 1940

The above Carl Van Vechten photograph shows a long-gone corner establishment at 464 Lenox Avenue circa 1940. The Elks Rendezvous Lounge had one of most impressive Art Deco neon awnings that we have come across in some time and there’s even a neon elk head at the top curve of the sign (click to enlarge). The musician Louis Jordan created a sextet called Louis Jordan and His The Elks Rendezvous Band after landing a residency at the Elks Rendezvous club at 464 Lenox Avenue in Harlem. The corner building still exist today at the southwest side of Lenox and 132nd Street but it currently has a restored red brick facade and a nondescript storefront. The only Harlem club that still has this aesthetic fully intact today is the Lenox Lounge (between 124th and 125th) which also has an impressive exterior.