By Bobby Cherry

Published: Monday, January 28, 2013, 5:48 p.m.
Updated: Monday, January 28, 2013

A longtime haven for social life and entertainment for blacks in the Sewickley Valley is on the verge of a sheriff's sale for the second time in 14 months.

The Walter Robinson American Legion Post 450 on Chadwick Street is scheduled for sale Monday through the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department. In December 2011, the post filed for bankruptcy following years of declining membership and a down economy, organizers of the post said.

The post once was a local hot spot that attracted many prominent black musicians of the Big Band era, including Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Count Basie. It also was widely used by blacks for wedding receptions, programs, celebrations and proms during segregation.

The organization received the old Sewickley train station as a gift from the borough after it was moved from its former location near the corner of what now is Broad Street and Ohio River Boulevard to its current Chadwick Street location.

Organizers had planned fundraisers throughout 2012 to help offset costs needed to emerge from bankruptcy. In January 2012, organizers said $125,000 was needed.

Bobby Cherry is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-324-1408 or rcherry@tribweb.com.

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