Hall's Beauty Parlor

Hall's Beauty Parlor was a business operating during the mid-1900s for African Americans. The shop was advertised in The Green Book from 1954-1955. The parlor was located at 323 N. Tarboro Street in Raleigh, NC.¹

Hall's Beauty Parlor was owned and operated by Beatrice Hall. Beatrice Hall was born on January 13, 1922, to Bernie and Sarah Hall in Wake county. She was married to Henry Hall and lived at  2201 Lyndhurst Dr. They had one child, a daughter, and her name was Carol Jean Hall. Beatrice's husband was also an entrepreneur and owned Hall's Grill in 1953; Beatrice was noted as working there as a waitress in 1956. Beatrice began her beauty business in the 1940s. Hall's Beauty Parlor had many locations throughout the twentieth century. The parlor was originally located at 1509 New Bern Avenue. Beatrice co-owned the parlor with Miss Halsie Chavis and Miss Alice Lewis. In 1949, the parlor moved to 702 E. Martin Street. In 1950 that location changed to 700 E. Martin Street. The building at 323 N. Tarboro Street. was built in 1952, and in 1953 Hall's Beauty Parlor moved to that location. This is the location that is recognized by The Green Book. Hall was an influential person in the beauty world. To promote the parlor, Beatrice advertised it in The Carolinian newspaper. She spoke to many women on the health and upkeep of their hair in preparation for a debutante ball and served on the Raleigh Host Committee for the North Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs annual convention.²

Many women worked alongside Beatrice in the parlor. Elizabeth Andrews, Alice Lewis, Mary S. Green Mrs. E. M. Holden, Eloise Lane, and Roberta J. Glover were all operators in the parlor with Beatrice throughout the years.³

In 1991, at the age of 69, Beatrice Hall died due to an intracranial hemorrhage. She is buried in Carolina Biblical Gardens.⁴   
 

Essay by Miranda Clinton, 2019.

Oral History

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1954 Green Book, 53; Green, 1955 Green Book, 54.
2. “Beatrice Hall Death Certificate,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89G8-T9QN-V?i=3097, accessed June 27, 2019; “License and Certificate of Marriage: George Rouse, Jr., and Carol Jean Hall,” FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHV-397W-K?i=916&cc=1…, accessed September 2, 2019; Hill’s 1953 Raleigh City Directory, 246 (alphabetical listing), 121 (street guide); Hill’s 1956 Raleigh City Directory, 268 (alphabetical listing); Hill’s 1949 Raleigh City Directory, 193 (alphabetical listing); Hill’s 1950 Raleigh City Directory, 171 (alphabetical listing), 626 (classified business directory), 67 (street guide); Hill’s 1951 Raleigh City Directory, 171 (alphabetical listing), 68 (street guide); Hill’s 1952 Raleigh City Directory, 186 (alphabetical listing), 9 (classified business directory), 88 (street guide); “Subject Area Improvement Sales.” Wake County Real Estate Data, http://services.wakegov.com/realestate/ImpSales.asp?id=0017715&stype=ad…; Hill’s 1953 Raleigh City Directory, 247 (alphabetical listing), 157 (street guide); Hill’s 1954 Raleigh City Directory, 235 (alphabetical listing), 9 (classified business directory), 199 (street guide); The Carolinian (Jan. 3, 1953) http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1953-01-03/ed-1/seq-3/#…; “Prospective Debutantes Form a Club,” The Carolinian, October 12, 1957, North Carolina Newspapers, DigitalNC, http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1957-10-12/ed-1/seq-7/, accessed September 2, 2019; “Raleigh Host Committee (Newspaper Image Caption),” The Carolinian, May 28, 1960, page 3A, North Carolina Newspapers, DigitalNC, http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83045120/1960-05-28/ed-1/seq-3/, accessed September 2, 2019.
3. Hill’s 1950 Raleigh City Directory, 247 (alphabetical listing);  Hill’s 1949 Raleigh City Directory, 187 (alphabetical listing); The Carolinian (Jan. 3, 1953) http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1953-01-03/ed-1/seq-3/#…; Hill’s 1959 Raleigh City Directory, 433 (alphabetical listing); Hill’s 1960 Raleigh City Directory, 328 (alphabetical listing); Hill’s 1962 Raleigh City Directory, 234 (alphabetical listing).
4. “Beatrice Hall Death Certificate,” FamilySearch.org.