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City Quotient: Lincoln Theatre and the Macon Hotel
A Near East Side theater and a hotel helped define a swinging era of Columbus.
Jeff Darbee
I know the Lincoln Theatre on East Long Street has been restored, but wasn’t it in a ruined condition years ago and close to demolition?
Yes, ruined and close to being lost. Back before freeway construction and suburbanization, the Black community of Columbus had a thriving commercial district along Long Street and Mount Vernon Avenue just northeast of Downtown. At a time when those residents were not allowed in Downtown theaters, Al Jackson and Ernie Williams, successful African American real estate owners, opened the Ogden Theatre and Ballroom in late 1928 at 769 E. Long St. It became known for its jazz performances, hosting many giants of the genre Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Etta James and Columbus’ own Nancy Wilson.