Jewel's Catch One

Constructed in 1925 just south of Los Angeles's Koreatown, this Mediterranean Revival style building first housed Joseph's Royale Cafe, offering 50-cent lunch meals and 85-cent dinners as well as confections. The second floor of the building was originally a school of dancing. In the late 1920's, the building was used as the Diana Ballroom- a popular neighborhood club. During its early years, Ella Fitzgerald and other notable Black musicians played at the Diana. However, due to segregation, the artists- including Fitzgerald- were always required to enter and exit through the back stairs and were not allowed to speak to white patrons.

Like many businesses the 1960's United States, the bar only served white people. Across the street, Jewel Thais-Williams- a Black lesbian woman- had worked as a grocery store clerk and was aware of the discrimination at the club. In the early 1970's, a recession hit and the owners of the Diana put it up for sale. Despite having no bartending or business experience, Jewel Thais-Williams bought the downstairs of the building in 1973 for $18,000. Thais-Williams slept on the pool table upstairs while spending days renovating the facilities. By 1975, she owned the entire property and in the upstairs floor of the building, Jewel's Catch One nightclub was born.

Thais-Williams's vision for the nightclub was inspired by the rampant discrimination that she had both witnessed and experienced in Los Angeles during the time period. Even gay establishments such as the famous Studio One nightclub openly denied entry to Black and brown gay men, working-class people, transgender individuals, and women. With Catch One, Thais-Williams wanted to create an open and welcoming environment for patrons of all backgrounds. Word spread quickly in the Los Angeles community, and soon this vision was realized. Jewel's Catch One became known as one of the most diverse, and largest, discotheques in the Los Angeles area. It was also one of the few Black-owned LGBTQ-friendly nightclubs in the country at the time. As such, the Los Angeles Police Department began harassing Thais-Williams and the patrons of Catch One almost nightly, frequently parking outside of the entrance and arresting clubgoers at random. Thais-Williams, known as "Mama Jewel" by many, fiercely advocated for herself and for anyone who was targeted by the LAPD.

Thanks to its three bars, three diverse, bustling dancefloors, and a world-renowned DJ, Jewel's Catch One grew to legendary status and came to be dubbed the "Studio 54 of the West Coast" by many. Celebrities such as Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Thelma Houston, Sylvester, Whoopi Goldberg, Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, Donna Summer, Rick James, Bette Midler, Sharon Stone, Madonna, and The Weather Girls all frequented the club during its heyday. Scenes from the movies "Beaches" and "Pretty Woman" were even filmed at the Catch One.

In 1985, Catch One hosted the first meetings of the Unity Fellowship Church of Christ- a church founded by Bishop Carl Bean to serve LGBTQ+ Black individuals. When the groundbreaking progressive church opened its doors in a new building on Jefferson Boulevard for the first time, the majority of the congregation consisted of regulars from Catch One. Later the same year, Jewel's Catch One nearly burnt down entirely after an arson set fire to the upstairs dancefloor. Despite knowing that the fire was caused by foul play, members of the nearby fire department told Thais-Williams that they wished that the nightclub had burned down and that they would not pursue an investigation. Despite facing hostility from local government and extensive damages to the club, Thais-Williams managed to raise enough money to reopen Catch One within two years.

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic first hit Los Angeles in the early 1980's, "Mama Jewel" opened up Catch One to host many of the gay men and transgender women who became homeless after contracting the disease. She also began working with other AIDS relief programs in the area to provide meals, hospice and funeral funds, and other forms of assistance to those who were struggling. Catch One also held multiple charity benefit events and vigils for deceased patrons, friends, and lovers. In 1989, Rue Thais-Williams- who met Jewel Thais-Williams at Unity Church and later became her partner- opened "Rue's House" in Catch One's neighboring building. Hosting up to ten people at a time, Rue's House was the first center in the country that was focused on helping women and their children living with HIV/AIDS. The center closed in 1997 thanks to increased access to a wider variety of social services and programs in the area for women. Both womens' work to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS is cited by Congresswoman Maxine Waters as being instrumental in her decision to legislate funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs and community resources during the 1980's.

While still managing Catch One, Jewel Thais-Williams earned a Masters of Science degree in Oriental Medicine from Samra University in 1998 at the age of 60. In 2001, she opened the Village Health Foundation, a non-profit health clinic dedicated to helping members of lower-income, minority communities learn about nutrition, exercise, yoga, and mindfulness. Thais-Williams continues to run the Village Health Foundation today.

After forty years of operation, Thais-Williams announced that Jewel's Catch One would be closing its doors in July of 2015. In honor of her contributions to LGBTQ+ community, Jewel Thais-Williams was given the position of Grand Marshall for the Los Angeles Pride Festival of the following year. In 2019, a documentary titled "Jewel's Catch One" was released on Netflix by Ava Duvernay's distribution company ARRAY. The documentary, co-produced by Thais-Williams, has won multiple awards. Later that year, the City of Los Angeles honored Thais-Williams with a street-corner square named after her. Today, the Catch One building is now home to a new nightclub, which was recently renamed "Catch One" in honor of the former disco and its trailblazing owner.

Anderson, Tre'vell. Great Read: Jewel’s Catch One disco’s demise marks era’s end for L.A.'s gay Blacks, Los Angeles Times. May 16th 2015. Accessed November 22nd 2020. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/great-reads/la-et-c1-Black-gay-clubs-20150316-story.html.

Blueskye, Brian. PSIFF: 'Jewel's Catch One' Tells the Amazing Story of One Woman Who Made a Huge Difference, CV Independent. December 26th 2016. Accessed November 21st 2020. https://www.cvindependent.com/index.php/en-US/movies/previews-and-features/item/3516-psiff-jewel-s-catch-one-tells-the-amazing-story-of-one-woman-who-made-a-huge-difference.

Brown, August. The story of L.A. club Jewel’s Catch One and its pioneering owner finds its way to Netflix, Los Angeles Times. May 2nd 2018. Accessed November 21st 2020. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-jewels-catch-one-documentary-20180502-story.html.

City News Service. City Council honors Thais-Williams, club owner who supported Black LGBTQ community, Los Angeles Times. October 5th 2019. Accessed November 22nd 2020. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-05/intersection-dedicated-in-honor-of-lgbtq-human-rights-activist-jewel-thais-williams.

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Lecaro, Lina. EXCLUSIVE: UNION RETURNS TO "CATCH ONE’’ NAME TO HONOR VENUE'S IMPORTANT LGBTQ HISTORY, LA Weekly. July 27th 2018. Accessed November 21st 2020. https://www.laweekly.com/exclusive-union-returns-to-catch-one-name-to-honor-venues-important-lgbtq-history/.

Los Angeles Conservancy . Jewel's Catch One, Los Angeles Conservancy. Accessed October 18th 2020. https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/jewels-catch-one.

Ocamb, Karen. Jewel Thais-Williams Squared (Photos/Video), Los Angeles Blade. October 7th 2019. Accessed November 21st 2020. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2019/10/07/jewel-thais-williams-squared-photos-video/.

ONE Archives. Catch One, University of Southern California. Accessed November 22nd 2020. https://one.usc.edu/archive-location/catch-one.

Tsjeng, Zing. 'Everybody Could Feel Safe': Remembering LA's Revolutionary Black Gay Nightclub, Vice. September 27th 2016. Accessed November 21st 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/kzeqky/everybody-could-feel-safe-remembering-las-revolutionary-Black-gay-nightclub.