Birdland

The story

Birdland was named not for birds but for a man: Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker, whose nickname the founders borrowed to capitalize on his profile. Irving Levy, Morris Levy, Oscar Goodstein, and six other partners bought the Broadway basement space in 1949 from a man known as Joe the Wop. The opening was supposed to be September 8 but a liquor license delayed it to December 15, when the night was billed 'A Journey Through Jazz,' featuring Lester Young, Hot Lips Page, and Parker himself. The club closed in 1965 over rent, but its name survived into the Theater District, where it still stands.