Club 47

Club 47, 45 ½ Mt. Auburn St.

Now recognized by the Cambridge Historical Commission as a local landmark, Club 47 Mt. Auburn (named for the club’s address) was started by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelly in 1958 as a jazz coffeehouse. Because Cambridge’s blue laws did not permit any establishment that served food and drink to also house more than three stringed instruments, Club 47 obtained a nonprofit educational charter and became a private club requiring people to pay a membership fee at the door (although at $1, the fee was not meant to deter club-goers). The club attracted college musicians from both Cambridge and Boston and fostered a close community of musicians all playing with and alongside one another, as well as living with one another. Club 47 performers included, among others, Joan Baez, the Charles River Valley Boys, Eric von Schmidt, Jackie Washington, Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, and even an un-paid and un-scheduled up-and-comer named Bob Dylan.