Historical Society Brings Fort Lauderdale Jazz to life with Two New Exhibits 

New River Inn
231 S.W. 2nd Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

The Fort Lauderdale Historical Society (FLHS), in collaboration with the Gold Coast Jazz Society (GCJS), will debut its new exhibits, Charles Mills: Portraits in Jazz and Life and Jazz in Fort Lauderdale at a special exhibit opening reception on May 29th from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at the Historical Society’s New River Inn.

The reception is $25 for Historical Society and Jazz Society members and $35 for nonmembers. Enjoy an evening of jazz performed by vocalist Nicole Yarling. O’Hara’s Jazz and Blues Café is sponsoring the event.

Charles Mills said, “I believe that there should be more than just surface prettiness to art, but that one should be able to look at the person or object portrayed and not only feel, but hear a song coming from it; then it becomes a connecting bond and experience between the picture and the viewer.”

The Mills exhibit features 19 of Mills’ original works of art in a variety of media including acrylic on canvas, collage and scratchboard. Scratchboard was a technique Mills learned in his first career as a medical illustrator. Subjects featured in his artwork include portraits of famous jazz artists such as John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles. Images in Mills work portray the Civil Rights Movement, African American heritage and portraits of Mills’ own family.

Also opening is Jazz in Fort Lauderdale which looks into the history of the Fort Lauderdale jazz scene. Take a step back in time to the hottest Fort Lauderdale jazz clubs in the 1930s such as Club Brownie and the Trianon Ballroom.  The exhibit also tells the story of world-famous artists who played in Fort Lauderdale such as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, who gave one of her first lead performances in Fort Lauderdale. 

Both exhibits can be viewed from Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m-5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. Admission to the Museum is $10 per person and is free to FLHS members.  To RSVP, please contact FLHS at 954-463-4431 ext. 16.

Located on the New River, the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society tells the story of our community’s history from the Pioneers of Fort Lauderdale to the present day through its four historic structures: 1905 New River Inn, which houses the Museum of History and was the first building in Broward County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the 1905 Philemon Bryan House, a four-square Vernacular style house; 1905 Acetylene Building, which produced acetylene gas to light the New River Inn; and the 1907 King-Cromartie House , which belonged to one of the first pioneer families in Fort Lauderdale. The site also includes a replica of the first Broward County school house and the Hoch Heritage Center, a public research library that holds the largest collection of material related to greater Fort Lauderdale, including more than 250,000 historic photographs.

Charles Mills Favorite Things Photo - Charles Mills “My Favorite Things,” acrylic on canvas, 2007.

Charles Mills Stain Glass Body Photo- Charles Mills Untitled, colored pencil, 1998.