Latin Casino

Not to be confused with Latin Casino, Baltimore in Maryland. The Latin Casino was a Philadelphia-area nightclub that first opened as the Latin nightclub in 1950 at the corner of 13th and Walnut in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many top entertainers performed at the Latin including Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Durante, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and Joey Bishop. The Latin was a very popular Center City nightclub for a decade. In 1960, Owners Dallas Gerson and Dave Dushoff, relocated to nearby Cherry Hill, New Jersey and built the plush 1,500-seat, Vegas-style dinner theater renamed from the "Latin" to the Latin Casino, although casino gambling was not included. It was considered one of the fanciest, hippest dinner nightclubs experiences of that time featuring dinner, drinks and a showcase of top entertainment. Following a period of strong popular success, the Latin Casino finally closed in the summer of 1978 as an indication of an end of era and a symbol of the evolution of Pop culture. Five months later, at the height of the disco craze, it reopened as an exotic disco club, Emerald City (4) (inspired by the Wizard of Oz fabled city). Success was short lived and was converted to a venue for progressive rock bands and finally closed in December 1982 and later demolished for commercial use.