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52nd Street, properly West 52nd Street, is a cross street in Manhattan in the Broadway district known as "the street of jazz", "the street that never sleeps" or, simply, "the street".
The blocks of 52nd Street between 5th and 6th avenues were renowned in the mid 20th century for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life. The street was convenient to musicians playing on Broadway and the "legitimate" nightclubs and was also the site of a CBS studio. Musicians who played for others in the early evening played for themselves on 52nd Street.
In its heyday from 1930 through 1960 52nd Street clubs hosted such jazz legends as Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Thelonius Monk and many more. Although musicians from all schools performed there, 52nd Street was central in the development of bebop.
Virtually every great jazz player and singer of the era performed at clubs such as Small's Paradise, the Three Deuces, the Royal Roost, Bop City, and Birdland. Noted jazz disc jockey Symphony Sid frequently did live broadcasts from the street, making it famous across the country.
By the late 1950s the jazz scene began moving elsewhere around the city and urban renewal took hold of the street. By the 1960s most of the legendary clubs were razed or fell into disrepair. Today, the street is full of banks, shops, and department stores and shows little trace of its jazz history: not one club remains from the bebop era.
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