A Royal Affair | Return to Pennsylvania Avenue | The 2024 Reginald F. Lewis Museum Gala
Time | Cocktail Hour : 6:30 PM & Dinner & Awards: 7 PM
Attire | 1950s Fabulous, 1960s Chic or Cocktail Attire
The museum’s namesake Reginald F. Lewis – the first African American to execute a leveraged buyout valued at nearly $1 billion–was respected as a titan of industry, a maverick, and a trailblazer. Each year, The Lewis Museum hosts its premier fundraising event and celebrates individuals. Pennsylvania Avenue was the epicenter for Black arts and entertainment businesses in the early-to-mid-20th century, including venues such as The Royal Theater, clubs, restaurants, and hotels. However, redlining, blockbusting, and racially restrictive covenants led to decades of disinvestment in the area. This year, A Royal Affair will recall the glory and the heyday of Black arts and culture as celebrated along the vibrant West Baltimore corridor in the 1950s and 1960s.
