Billie Holiday, Anchorage

Billie Holiday, Anchorage, 1954
Anchorage Museum, Ward Wells Collection, B1983.91.C1351.1

When jazz legend Billie Holiday visited Alaska in 1954, she was among many iconic Black performers who made their way north to perform in the territory and then state during the postwar decades. In fact, Anchorage’s Eastchester Flats neighborhood was the nation’s northernmost Black community with a cluster of Black owned businesses and clubs. Performers like Holiday, T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Rushing, and others were known to play deep into the night before a diverse audience. Holiday’s trip to Alaska came towards the end of her career after she had gained considerable fame and was generally recognized as among the most talented vocalists in the history of American music.

To see more historic photographs of the Black performing artists who have visited Alaska, visit Roscoe's Restaurant at 120 E. 6th Avenue, next door to the Anchorage Museum.