In 1916, William Sidney Pittman completed construction on the Knights of Pythias Temple, the first commercial building in Dallas built by and for African Americans. Located in the historic African American Deep Ellum neighborhood, the building served as a center for civic, business, and social life in Dallas at a time when segregation offered few other alternatives. By the 1920s, Deep Ellum had become a hotbed for early jazz and blues musicians, including Blind Lemon Jefferson and Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter.