At Her Globe-Spanning Nightclubs, This Black Entertainer Hosted a 'Who’s Who' of the 20th Century

Ada "Bricktop" Smith's clubs attracted high-profile visitors, including Cole Porter, the future Edward VIII and Elizabeth Taylor. Carl Van Vechten Collection / Getty Images To visit Rome is to regularly come face to face with the past. Most visitors are aware of the towering figures of the Colosseum and the Pantheon, both troves of ancient history. But scattered throughout the city are also smaller-scale…