The Historic Hampton House

Retracing the ‘Green Book’ and the Evolving Story of Black Travel

"When world-renowned musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, and Sammy Davis Jr. performed on Miami Beach, they couldn’t stay in the Miami Beach hotels, so they traveled inland to the Brownsville neighborhood to stay at the Hampton House, where they’d often play a late-night set. It was during this second set, reserved for their peers, that the musicians let loose, relaxed, and performed the B-sides they didn’t play for predominantly white audiences. News of these jam sessions got out, and suddenly white folks were following these musicians to Hampton House, making it one of the most integrated hotspots in Miami."