This event held at the beginning of February each year was organised by a special fund raising section of the National Urban League called the National Urban League Guild. The first one was held in 1942 and by 1947 the event was "themed" and usually became a major fancy dress occasion as well. In 1949, LIFE magazine published its second "Life Goes to a Party" feature on the Savoy and covered that year's Beaux Arts Ball. It's a side to the ballroom that tends to be overlooked these days, when some of the richest people from Park Avenue came and danced the night away with the well-to-do from Harlem, and even some of the locals who had considerably less change in their pockets but who managed to get a ticket by one means or another. Mollie Moon was the driving force behind this significant fund raising event for the NUL that was and is one of the major organisations representing African Americans.

Everyone who attended swears that the Beaux Arts Balls was the event to attend. Hopefully this section of the site might stir a few memories and start a flow of information that can round out our understanding of what took place. I am dedicated to the late Lynette Miller and the late Professor Maurice Russell who spent so much time talking about the great times they had there before the Ball was moved downtown after the Savoy closed. Significantly there were various suggestions at different times that the Ball should be moved before the Savoy closed because of the adverse reputation that Harlem was getting in some quarters. The organisers steadfastly refused until they had no other choice.

The themes for the Savoy NULG Beaux Arts Balls were:

1947 Costume of the United Nations
1948 Freedom Train Ball
1949 A Night of Dreams
1950 Shakespeare in Harlem
1951 Paris at the Beaux Arts Ball
1952 Broadway through the Years
1953 Beaux Arts goes to the Circus
1954 Story Book Ball
1955 International Carnival
1956 Disneyland
1957 Comic Strip Ball
1958 Around the World.

The Beaux Arts Ball carried on until 1995 usually at the Waldorf Astoria, until Mollie Moon, the principal organiser died. As in the case of the Harvest Moon Ball preliminary the other organisers felt it couldn't take place without her.