Celebrating Christmas at Sea Ferguson’s Cotton Club

December 07, 2025

Celebrate the Christmas holiday at Sea Ferguson’s Cotton Club — a legendary Avenue nightclub that hosted the greatest stars in American music, from Ray Charles to Louis Armstrong.

Along with his brother, Denver Ferguson, Sea played a key role in shaping the Avenue’s entertainment scene. Sea was born in Brownsville, Kentucky, in December of 1899. He came to Indianapolis during the 1920s, and by the 1930s, he had become one of the most prominent businessmen on the Avenue.

His influence as a civic leader in Naptown was recognized in 1938, when Sea was voted “Mayor of Bronzeville” — an informal title used in Black communities during segregation for someone who held real power and leadership in everyday life, at a time when official political power was often out of reach.

Today, Sea is best remembered for his connection to the Avenue music scene. In 1931, he opened the Trianon Ballroom. The club’s official grand opening took place on Christmas Eve of that year. The ballroom occupied the third floor of a building located at the corner of Vermont and Senate Streets. In 1933, Sea expanded to the first floor, opening a restaurant and bar called the Cotton Club. Before long, the name “Cotton Club” stuck, and locals used it to describe the entire building — not just the bar.

Sea Ferguson hosted legendary concerts at the club, and on this week’s show, we’ll celebrate the season by listening to holiday music from the artists who performed there, including Fats Waller, Ray Charles, Big Maybelle, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong, Lowell Fulson, and more.