The Royal Peacock is one of the rare places where Atlanta's historic Black nightlife isn't behind glass. The Auburn Avenue club that once welcomed legends including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Marvin Gaye and Louis Armstrong remains a nightclub today. This is exactly what we mean by standing in history.

The story begins in the late 1930s, when the space operated as the Top Hat Club. Carrie Cunningham purchased it in 1949 and transformed it into the Royal Peacock. During Auburn Avenue's heyday, the Peacock became one of the places Black Atlanta went to see and be seen. The list of people connected to this room sounds almost made up. Ray Charles. Little Richard. Marvin Gaye. Louis Armstrong. B.B. King. Gladys Knight. Muhammad Ali. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.