{"id":4642,"date":"2019-09-20T20:27:04","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T20:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/?page_id=4642"},"modified":"2022-08-09T19:30:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T19:30:32","slug":"dudley-street","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/","title":{"rendered":"Dudley Street"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1569250074477{margin-top: -90px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street <\/em><em>in the 1950s. It was <\/em><em>one of at least five dance halls that featured live music by Irish and Canadian bands in the mid-20th century. Courtesy of Frank Storer.<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text]<style>.vcex-heading.vcex_69e5cd7c88be5{font-size:36px;}<\/style><div class=\"vcex-heading vcex-heading-plain vcex-module wpex-heading wpex-text-2xl vc_custom_1569011432194 vcex_69e5cd7c88be5\"><span class=\"vcex-heading-inner wpex-inline-block\">Dudley Street: Crossroads of Celtic Music<\/span><\/div>[vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1569532327833{padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;]Immigrants have long shaped Boston\u2019s music scene, and perhaps no tradition has been as enduring as that of the Celtic bands that once filled dancehalls along Dudley Street in Roxbury. For more than forty years&#8211;from the 1920s to the 1960s&#8211;Irish, Scottish, and Acadian fiddling bands played to large crowds of immigrants from Ireland and the Canadian Maritime provinces. As a transit hub for the elevated train and streetcar lines, Dudley Square became a magnet for immigrant musicians and fans, a place where traditional Celtic music met new American styles and practices.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4745\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4745\" style=\"width: 552px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/dudley-dancehalls\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4745\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4745\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/dudley-dancehalls.jpg\" alt=\"Map of the Dudley Street dance halls ca. 1940.\" width=\"552\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/dudley-dancehalls.jpg 2667w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/dudley-dancehalls-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/dudley-dancehalls-768x490.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/dudley-dancehalls-1024x653.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 552px) 100vw, 552px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4745\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Map of the Dudley Street dance halls ca. 1940. Courtesy of Dan Zedek.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Irish and Canadian immigrants first brought Celtic music to Boston in the mid-19<sup>th<\/sup> century, hosting dances and house parties in their neighborhoods. In the early twentieth century, dancehalls in the South End featured Irish and Canadian bands, but in the 1920s, the scene shifted out to Roxbury, where new transit lines were bringing growing numbers of immigrants and their children.\u00a0 Around Dudley and Warren Streets, Irish and Canadian newcomers erected buildings for their fraternal orders, with large meeting halls on the upper floors. Hibernian Hall was run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, while Canadians operated the Intercolonial Club and the Knights of Columbus\u2019 Rose Croix Hall. Other popular venues were Winslow Hall and the Dudley Street Opera House.<\/p>\n<p>Soon enterprising migrants started booking local fiddle bands to play dances there on Thursday and Saturday nights. Canadian bands were especially popular in the twenties and thirties, including groups led by Scottish-style Cape Breton fiddlers Johnnie Archie MacDonald and Alec Gillis, leader of the Inverness Serenaders. Other groups hailed from Prince Edward Island or featured Acadian fiddlers from Nova Scotia, such as Tommy Doucet and Alcide Aucoin. Irish fiddling bands were also popular, particularly at Hibernian Hall, Winslow Hall, and the Dudley Street Opera House. Fan favorites included the Emerald Island Orchestra led by Tom Senier, Dan Sullivan\u2019s Shamrock Band, and Joe O\u2019Leary\u2019s Irish Minstrels.<\/p>\n<p>Most bands played a mixture of traditional Celtic music (such as reels, jigs, and hornpipes) and popular American styles (such as waltzes and foxtrots). The five big Roxbury dance halls featured groups with different regional styles who attracted fans from back home, but there was also a good bit of cross-fertilization between these Irish, Scottish, and French-style players.<\/p>\n<p>Their formula was a success, as thousands of fans flocked to dancehalls for both music and companionship. As one patron recalled, \u201cYou were always meeting somebody from home\u2026. You\u2019d go up to a dance, and if you didn\u2019t know anybody\u2026 you\u2019d leave it and go to another.\u201d Mainly young and single, many of the fans worked in local factories, shipyards, and transit lines, giving them spending money for weekend entertainment. Many of the women were employed as domestics and looked forward to their night out, typically on Thursdays. Those weeknight dances were very popular. As one promoter, Ralph MacGillvray, remembers, people teased him that he was \u201crunning a marriage bureau down there\u2026 You\u2019d get four or five or six hundred girls&#8211;they\u2019d come in groups. They\u2019d be ready when the first dance was on, and they\u2019d stay till the last.\u201d Many musicians and fans did in fact meet their future spouses at the dancehalls.<\/p>\n<p>The end of Prohibition saw new pubs and restaurants open along Dudley Street in the 1930s, adding to the local nightlife. But for many who were unemployed during the Depression, the door fees to the dances were no longer affordable. Instead, people\u00a0 organized house parties, or \u201ckitchen rackets,\u201d a tradition of home-based entertainment brought over from rural Ireland and the Maritimes. These were common during the Depression, Billy MacGillvray recalled, for people who were \u201cup against it, and they\u2019d have a kitchen racket and raise a few bucks.\u201d Musicians played in the kitchen, where the linoleum served as a dance floor. More elaborate gatherings might happen in the summer, when local domestics cared for the homes of wealthy residents.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019d usually have a big basement&#8211;a big room, big as this house, and a tile floor. We\u2019d have a party, invite fellas and girls and we\u2019d dance,\u201d said MacGillvray. \u201cWhether the owners&#8211;who were away in Europe and so on&#8211;whether they knew or not, nobody gave a damn.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4678\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4678\" style=\"width: 595px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/jfk-dance-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4678\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4678\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/JFK-dance-1.jpg\" alt=\"This 1957 dance at the Intercolonial Crystal Ballroom was a fundraiser for John F. Kennedy's senatorial race. The Four Provinces Orchestra is on stage.\" width=\"595\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/JFK-dance-1.jpg 3450w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/JFK-dance-1-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/JFK-dance-1-768x469.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/JFK-dance-1-1024x626.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4678\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>This 1957 dance at the Intercolonial Crystal Ballroom was a fundraiser for John F. Kennedy&#8217;s senatorial race. The Four Provinces Orchestra is on stage. Courtesy of Frank Storer.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>World War II boosted the economy and helped bring patrons back to the Roxbury dancehalls. But the biggest change came after the 1945, when bad harvests and postwar economic woes in Ireland sent a surge of new immigrants to Boston. A new generation of Irish bands\u2014many from the western counties of Galway, Connemara, Clare, Kerry, and Sligo\u2014took the stage at the Intercolonial and other Dudley Street halls. Some of the most popular figures were accordionists: Johnny Powell and His Irish Band, who were mainstays at the Intercolonial Ballroom, and Joe Derrane and his All-Star Ce\u00edl\u00ed Band, a group led by an Irish American band leader from Mission Hill.<\/p>\n<p>Like their Canadian counterparts, most of these bands played a mix of traditional Celtic tunes\u2014including the group dance number \u201cThe Siege of Ennis\u201d\u2014as well as popular American songs played with a jazz or swing feel. For many recent Irish immigrants, however, the appeal of traditional Irish dance, or ce\u00edl\u00ed, music remained strong, and many believed that it was more common in Roxbury than it was back home.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4681\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4681\" style=\"width: 525px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/copley-album-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4681\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-4681\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Copley-Album-1.jpg\" alt=\"One of hundreds of records produced by Copley Records between the 1948-1986. This 1955 recording of Irish dance music featured legendary Boston accordionist Joe Derrane and other Dudley Street musicians.\" width=\"525\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Copley-Album-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Copley-Album-1-295x300.jpg 295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4681\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>One of hundreds of recordings produced by Copley Records between 1948-1986. This 1955 recording of Irish dance music featured legendary Boston accordionist Joe Derrane and other Dudley Street musicians.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As thousands of fans swarmed the postwar dancehalls, a growing commercial market developed for local artists. Irish music recordings had been available in Roxbury since 1926, when Justus O\u2019Byrne DeWitt opened his House of Music store near the corner of Dudley and Warren Streets. A combined record store and travel agency, he also offered music lessons and instruments. With the boom in Irish dance music in the late forties, Dewitt started his own record label, Copley Records, and produced dozens of recordings by local Irish and Canadian bands. Sales were aided by Boston-area radio shows such as the Irish Radio Hour on WVOM, hosted by Dudley Street shopkeeper Tommy Shields.<\/p>\n<p>Following its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, the Dudley Street dancehall scene gradually faded. A drop off in Irish migration, demographic change and growing racial tensions in Roxbury, and changing musical styles of the 1960s all drove patrons away from Dudley Street. After a decline in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, Celtic music would revive in a somewhat more intimate form, moving to smaller clubs and pubs. But the earlier era of the Dudley Street dancehalls was a critical part of the city\u2019s musical heritage, one that delighted several generations of fans and helped preserve elements of traditional Celtic music that still survive in Boston today.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Burrill, Gary. <em>Maritimers in Massachusetts, Ontario, and Alberta: An Oral History of Leaving Home. <\/em>Montreal: McGill-Queens\u2019s University Press, 1992.<\/p>\n<p>Ferrel, Frank. <em>Boston Fiddle: The Dudley Street Tradition. <\/em>Rounder Records, 1996.<\/p>\n<p>Gedutis, Susan. <em>See You at the Hall: Boston&#8217;s Golden Era of Irish Music and Dance<\/em>. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Restoring the Hibernian,&#8221; <em>Boston Globe<\/em>, March 14, 2004.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;]<style>.vcex-teaser.vcex_69e5cd7c894a4 .vcex-teaser-heading{color:#494949;}<\/style><div class=\"vcex-module vcex-teaser wpex-flex wpex-flex-col vc_custom_1660072757335 vcex_69e5cd7c894a4\"><div class=\"vcex-teaser-media wpex-mb-20\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnjburnslibrary.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/10\/imc_m082_rm051_01_track04stereo.mp3\" class=\"wpex-no-underline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/360395384518.jpg\" class=\"wpex-align-middle\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/360395384518.jpg 400w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/360395384518-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/360395384518-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"vcex-teaser-content\"><h2 class=\"vcex-teaser-heading wpex-heading wpex-text-lg wpex-child-inherit-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnjburnslibrary.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/10\/imc_m082_rm051_01_track04stereo.mp3\" class=\"wpex-no-underline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fiddle Sets: The Music of Cape Breton<\/a><\/h2><div class=\"vcex-teaser-text wpex-mt-10 wpex-last-mb-0 wpex-clr\"><p>The Inverness Serenaders were a popular Scottish-style band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia that played frequently on Dudley Street. In this recording from 1956, band members Alec Gillis and\/or Angus Chisholm play fiddle accompanied by Betty Maillet on piano. Courtesy Muise Family Collection of Cape Breton and Irish Music, Box 1, Folder 150, 57:40-63:03, IMC.M082, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;]<style>.vcex-teaser.vcex_69e5cd7c89d42 .vcex-teaser-heading{color:#494949;}<\/style><div class=\"vcex-module vcex-teaser wpex-flex wpex-flex-col vc_custom_1660073424271 vcex_69e5cd7c89d42\"><div class=\"vcex-teaser-media wpex-mb-20 wpex-text-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnjburnslibrary.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/11\/im_m016_1991_99446_0000_clip.mp3\" class=\"wpex-no-underline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img width=\"1296\" height=\"1296\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young.jpg\" class=\"wpex-align-middle\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paddy-cronin-young-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"vcex-teaser-content\"><h2 class=\"vcex-teaser-heading wpex-heading wpex-text-lg wpex-child-inherit-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnjburnslibrary.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/11\/im_m016_1991_99446_0000_clip.mp3\" class=\"wpex-no-underline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Irish Reel by Paddy Cronin<\/a><\/h2><div class=\"vcex-teaser-text wpex-mt-10 wpex-last-mb-0 wpex-clr\"><p>This reel, performed in the 1950s by renowned fiddler Paddy Cronin accompanied by Gene Frain on piano, was typical of the music played at the Dudley Street dance halls at that time. Courtesy of the James W. Smith Irish music recordings, 99446 (reel 27), IM.M016.1991, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1569250074477{margin-top: -90px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;] Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street in the 1950s. It was one of at least five dance halls that featured live music by Irish and Canadian bands in the mid-20th century.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4677,"parent":1578,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[20,50,54,53,52,16,18,10,21,51,23],"class_list":["post-4642","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-boston","tag-canadian","tag-celtic","tag-dudley-street","tag-fiddling","tag-immigrants","tag-immigration","tag-irish","tag-maritime-provinces","tag-music","tag-roxbury","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dudley Street - Global Boston<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dudley Street - Global Boston\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1569250074477{margin-top: -90px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;] Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street in the 1950s. It was one of at least five dance halls that featured live music by Irish and Canadian bands in the mid-20th century.&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Global Boston\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GlobalBostonHistory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-09T19:30:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2985\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2338\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@johnsohi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/\",\"name\":\"Dudley Street - Global Boston\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-20T20:27:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-09T19:30:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg\",\"width\":2985,\"height\":2338,\"caption\":\"Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street in the 1950s. Courtesy of Frank Storer.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Immigrant Places\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Roxbury\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Dudley Street\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/\",\"name\":\"Global Boston\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Global Boston\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/06_01_012688_edited-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/06_01_012688_edited-1.jpg\",\"width\":1956,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Global Boston\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GlobalBostonHistory\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnsohi\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dudley Street - Global Boston","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dudley Street - Global Boston","og_description":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1569250074477{margin-top: -90px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;] Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street in the 1950s. It was one of at least five dance halls that featured live music by Irish and Canadian bands in the mid-20th century.&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/","og_site_name":"Global Boston","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GlobalBostonHistory\/","article_modified_time":"2022-08-09T19:30:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2985,"height":2338,"url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@johnsohi","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/","url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/","name":"Dudley Street - Global Boston","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-20T20:27:04+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-09T19:30:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Frank-Storer-at-Piano-1.jpg","width":2985,"height":2338,"caption":"Frank Storer plays piano to a crowded dance hall at the Intercolonial Club on Dudley Street in the 1950s. Courtesy of Frank Storer."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/dudley-street\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Immigrant Places","item":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Roxbury","item":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/home\/immigrant-places\/roxbury\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Dudley Street"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/","name":"Global Boston","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#organization","name":"Global Boston","url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/06_01_012688_edited-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/06_01_012688_edited-1.jpg","width":1956,"height":900,"caption":"Global Boston"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GlobalBostonHistory\/","https:\/\/x.com\/johnsohi"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4642"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22343,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4642\/revisions\/22343"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}