Where can you find any info stories anecdotes history photos people on the Fox and Hounds a Boston nightclub in the 1930's and 1940's at 448 Beacon Street particularly in the 1945-1948 period?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a history of the famous night clubs in Boston, although several pictorial books about Boston's entertainment history do mention The Fox and Hounds Club. It was located in the Back Bay section of Boston, and was managed by the same people who owned the Red Coach Grille. James H. McManus was the president of the club, and his name was on many of its ads during the mid-1930s and into the early 1940s. It was a popular venue for wedding receptions and business meetings, as well as dining and dancing. Performers included a number of well-known local radio singers and even some national stars; the Ames Brothers (who went on to become nationally known) got their start at the Fox and Hounds. Numerous celebrities, including Jane Wyman, George Jessel, and Jimmy Durante, ate there. There was dancing in the Rhumba Casino Room.

At some point in the early 1940s, the club changed hands and it was operated by bandleader and entrepreneur Eddie Davis. But by 1949, it suddenly closed and announced the building was for sale. Unfortunately, 448 Beacon Street was seriously damaged in a three-alarm fire in June 1949. Meanwhile, James H. McManus opened another location of the Fox and Hounds, in the Hough's Neck section of Quincy, circa 1943; it was later owned and managed by his son Frederick. It too became a popular location for wedding receptions and dinner & dancing; and it too featured some of radio's best local entertainers, including the popular vocal duo Hum & Strum. It lasted into the early 1960s.