[wburg]

Well, I started out as a Sacramento nightlife enthusiast, about 40-50 years after these ads were run! It's interesting to see the parallels between the way nightclubs are presented and advertised through the years, and researching what happened to people who were part of the local scene: music, art, nightlife, entertainment, bars and restaurants, promotion. Some only operated in that milieu, others went on to other things. Plus, it's kind of fun to think about folks 50-100 years ago going out to clubs to listen and dance to the latest music and make the scene, but otherwise basically doing the same things nightclubbers do today. Jazz wasn't considered traditional or "old folks" music in the early 20th century. It was the rock & roll or hip hop of its day: loud, fast, sexual, interracial, threatening to the established order and the older generation. The music and the fashions have changed, but not the attitude.

I'm also interested because they represent a counter-narrative to the common perception of Sacramento as quiet little white-bread farm town. As this sort of material gets easier to find and share, that traditional narrative breaks down, revealing the story of a city that was far more lively, diverse, energetic, and entertaining than we are led to believe. It also means that the current increase in urban vitality, including growth of central city population, increase in numbers and visibility of downtown restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and live music venues, are not a new thing or a divergence from our past. They are a return and rebirth of the city we once had. That city was destroyed and hidden for decades, but now it's coming back!