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John Allen's Even More Infamous Dance Hall

Contemporary Image of John Allen's Dance Hall

The following description of John Allen's is taken from the Reverend Matthew Hale Smith's 1868 book, Sunshine and Shadow in New York. In the Reverend's opinion, John Allen's obviously exists in the shadowed side of New York:

"In another place I have alluded to the dance-cellars and halls in water street. There is one that deserves special mention. It is kept by john Allen, one of the most notorious men in the city. He is well educated, a man of fine presence, below fifty years of age, a tall, slim, wiry fellow, sharp and keen.

Location

I visited this establishment the other day. It is a fine brick building, very large and capacious, and he prides himself upon it as the model establishment of the city. It stands like a palace among the rookeries of lower New York. Allen himself was, at one time, a professedly religious man. He was designed for the ministry, and, it is said, was a student in the union theological seminary. He has brothers in the ministry, and his nephews are educated by himself for the sacred calling. He began life poor, and is now said to be worth a hundred thousand dollars.

A Visit To The Dance-House

In company with a friend, I made a visit to this dance-house, for the purpose of a personal interview with Allen. He is very fond of company, and is proud to have his establishment visited by a minister or a Christian. My friend was quite well acquainted with Allen, and introduced me. He immediately seized his bible, which lay on the counter, surrounded by half a dozen religious newspapers, garnished with decanters and glasses. He is a tonguey man, and argued for half an hour, intermingling with his religious conversation the obscene and peculiar phraseology by which his establishment is kept up; shouting to the jaded and lagging girls to keep to their work; heaping imprecations, invectives, and curses upon them, and all the while holding to the thread of his argument.

An Inside View

About twenty girls make up the establishment. They are dressed in a uniform peculiar to themselves. They wear flashy costumes, scarlet and other gay colors, short dresses, red topped boots, with bells affixed to the ankles. They sit on benches waiting for company, or are grouped in whirling dances. A small orchestra is in attendance, to the music of which the dance goes on. A slight fee is demanded for admittance, but the concern is supported by the immense bar, which is often insufficient to supply the demands of the thirsty crowd. Every one who enters is expected to dance, and to treat some female of the establishment. After each dance all the parties on the floor go up and drink at the expense of the men. If parties neither dance nor drink, they are ordered out. Allen needs no policeman to assist him in clearing his establishment. He is a lithe, wiry pugilist, and can clear, his establishment single-handed when he pleases. Sailors in from a long cruise, boatmen, longshoremen, captains, countrymen, patronize the house. The girls are mostly foreigners, of the lowest order, and come from the lowest stews and their downward career is well nigh ended.

A Talk With Allen

He admitted that he was at war with society, and society with him. He went into the business, he said, to make money, and he had made a fortune. He does not hide his bitterness that society now will not receive him back. He talks about his children, his brothers, his nephews, and what he does for benevolent causes. He has several religious papers, to which he is particularly attached. Any one who chooses may read them, and tracts and religious reading are at the service of any who have a taste that way. Religious services.

The room opens at about eight, and the pastimes close at about twelve. Fifty would be a large crowd for the rooms; but as company is coining and going all the evening, several hundreds partake of the rude fun, among whom are boys and girls below twelve years of age. The atmosphere reeks with blasphemy. The women are driven to their work by imprecations, and often by blows, from their taskmaster. Many of came from good homes, left their country residences, and began a gay life without imagining where it would end. Brazen, sore-eyed, filthy, the mere scum of life: they remain here a short time, are then kicked on to the sidewalk, and are sent to the island to die. Yet even here religious service is sometimes held. Allen is willing that any Christian should talk to his girls, and even an exhortation is not objected to. If any wish to leave, he will clear them out with an oath.

Allen vs. Satan

One of our earnest mission men told me that, being in the dance-room one night, he proposed to hold a prayer-meeting. After several songs had been sung, notwithstanding the protest of the proprietor that he would not have a prayer in his establishment, or that he would not hear it, a prayer-meeting was held. Some of the girls knelt on the floor, while others bowed their heads. Many announced their desire to leave their miserable employment and get an honest living, but said that nobody would employ them; that they could get nothing to do. If they got a place, they would be found out and sent away, and that they must remain with Allen or starve. And this is but a type of lower New York life — full of sin, full of shame, full of sorrow, full of suffering, full of repentance and remorse, without relief, and without hope. Were Satan to be personified, Allen would be a good specimen."

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Last updated on 4/17/08