Long Island Good Hearted Thespian Society
As of July 12, we are living with my parents in my hometown of Freeport, New York. (Our plan is to lounge here until we relocate to Pittsburgh in mid-August for a Warhol Curatorial Fellowship I was awarded at Carnegie Mellon University.) I was raised in Freeport, but I know surprisingly little about its history. I see this vacation as an opportunity to bone-up on all things Long Island, especially nautical history.
Growing up, I had heard tales of Freeport’s many famous thespians who took up waterfront residence here in the early part of the 20th Century. My parent’s house (the former “Windmill Inn”) was host to vaudeville era performers and operated as a speakeasy during prohibition. On a recent visit to my brother’s house (also in Freeport), I was delighted to find a newly minted historic plaque in the front yard, indicating my brother’s residence is built on the site of the L.I.G.H.T.S. Club (Long Island Good Hearted Thespian Society), whose members included Al Jolson, Victor Moore, Will Rogers, and John Philip Sousa. The Freeport Historical Museum has photos of the club in action, and I plan to make a visit there this Sunday (they’re only open one day per week).
My husband being a tourist at my brother's house
L.I.G.H.T.S. Club, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.
L.I.G.H.T.S. Club bar, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.
L.I.G.H.T.S. Club pool table, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.
One of the traditional Lights Club functions was the celebration of Christmas on the Fourth of July. Most of the vaudeville actors spent their Christmas days on trains, in dingy dressing rooms or in drab hotels. On July Fourth, though the temperature be in the 90s, the Lights’ Christmas tree was decorated and lighted, Santa Claus was dressed in his heavy suit with ermine trimmings, presents were placed under the tree and the members and their children arrived in their furs, mittens and earlaps, some even clattering into the club on snowshoes.
- Fred Allen, “Much Ado About Me,” 1956
I beleive I grew up a few houses away from the LIGHTS club in Freeport. If is the old ruins I played in in the 50s on fairview place, it was juet recently that, after over 50 years of wondering, I found out what those ruins were. Please let me know if I am right about the LIGHTS club being on Fairview Place.
Hi Alan, Actually, the LIGHTS Club was located at the foot of Branch Avenue in Freeport (the southern most part of the street, on the Bay). Hope this helps! Andrea
I did grow up (FHS ’69) near the end of Branch Ave. and played and swam by the LIGHTS Club remains.
Very cool, Steven. Do you have any pictures of the ruins?