In 1928, Rufus Rockhead, a Jamaican-born immigrant, First World War veteran, and former railroad porter, bought the building at 1258 St.Antoine Street West, corner of Mountain street.[4] The three-story building initially housed hotel rooms on the top floor. In 1931, Rockhead converted the second and third floors into a cabaret-style night club and managed to obtain a liquor licence from the Quebec provincial authorities, a ground-breaking achievement for a black businessman at the time.[5]

The club became famous for the high quality of its all-black stage shows and the hospitality of its owner, who greeted patrons individually at the top of the stairs. Famous African-American musicians and entertainers, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, often frequented the club after finishing their engagements elsewhere in the city, and sometimes performed impromptu on stage with the house band. In the 1940s, the club was known for some of Montreal's first performances by so-called female impersonators, featuring performers such as Dick Montgomery, Malva Bolda, and Billie McAllister.[6]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockhead%27s_Paradise