Queen City Hotel and 7th Avenue Mississippi Blues Trail Site

For several decades beginning in the early 1900s, the Queen City Hotel, which stood across the street from this site, was at the center of a vibrant African-American community along 7th Avenue North.  Clubs and cafes in the area featured Blues, Jazz, and Rhythm & Blues, and the hotel housed visiting musical celebrities, including B. B. King, Duke Ellington, and James Brown, as well as African-American professional athletes.  The hotel was founded by a former slave, Robert Walker.