'Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing' Exhibit Puts Apollo Theater in Spotlight

ARTS -- August 27, 2010 at 7:50 PM EDT

'Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing' Exhibit Puts Apollo Theater in Spotlight

Built in 1914 and originally named Hurtig and Seamon's New Burlesque Theatre, Harlem's famous Apollo Theater first catered to whites only. However, ownership changed hands in 1934 and a new era in black entertainment and American pop culture was launched.

An installation chronicling the history of the landmark theater is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" takes visitors on a ride into the theater's rich history with rarely displayed artifacts from Sammy Davis, Jr., Celia Cruz and Michael Jackson, who won Amateur Night in 1967 as a member of the Jackson 5.

The exhibit leaves Washington at the end of August. However, you can catch it at Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History beginning Oct. 1 and at the Museum of the City of New York starting in January.

Recently, Hari Sreenivasan toured the exhibit:

The PBS NewsHour welcomes your original comments. We reserve the right to remove posts that do not follow these basic guidelines: comments must be relevant to the topic of the post; may not include profanity, personal attacks or hate speech; may not promote a business or raise money; may not be spam. Anything you post should be your own work. The PBS NewsHour reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the comments or e-mails that we receive. By submitting comments, you agree to the PBS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which include more details.