2248 Market Street at 23rd Street

The Booker T. Washington Theater, located at 2248 Market Street at 23rd Street, operated from about 1920 to 1930. It was one of the first theaters in the United States built and operated by African Americans. With a seating capacity of 1,000, the theater featured vaudeville and other live entertainment, as well as motion pictures. Each week, a new show with a different theme was presented. The theater was part of the Black Vaudeville circuit, which was connected to the Theater Owners' Booking Association.

The theater attracted appearances by such Black stars as Ethel Waters (1896–1977), Bessie Smith (1894–1937), and Ma Rainey (1886–1939). The theater's owner and manager, Charles Udell Turpin, was also the first Black person in St. Louis to be elected to a local political office. His brother, Thomas Million Turpin, was the proprietor of the Rosebud Café.

As an independent candidate, Charles Turpin was elected constable in 1910, then re-elected in 1914 and again in 1918. In 1928 he was elected justice of the peace and reelected in 1934. Charles worked alongside influential figures such as Joseph Mitchell, editor of the St. Louis Argus, George Vaughn and Homer G. Phillips, both attorneys, and helped mobilize Black voters within the Republican Party. He played a key role in campaigning for Black political candidates and lobbying for Black appointments to Civil Service jobs.

In addition to his political involvement, Turpin was a pioneer in motion pictures. He supervised the filming of the reproduction of the Pythian Parade and Encampment in St. Louis in 1917, as well as other events involving African Americans, including coverage of the Black soldiers of the 92nd Division at Camp Funston, Kansas.