History
The Surf Ballroom was originally built in 1934, burned down in 1947, and rebuilt in 1948 across the street from its original location. It still hosts numerous events and has a seating capacity of 2,100 and a 6,300-square-foot (590 m2) dance floor. Attached to the building is the Surfside 6 Cafe. The facility includes a museum of music memorabilia, a Hall of Fame of the many famous artists who performed at the venue and a souvenir shop.
The Surf Ballroom is currently owned by the Snyder family of Clear Lake and is open to the public daily. The exterior of the ballroom, and the neighborhood around it, has changed very little since the 1950s. Backstage, in an area known as "The Green Room," acts that have played in the ballroom, such as Little River Band, Loverboy, The Righteous Brothers, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, Waylon Jennings and Bobby Rydell have signed their names on the whitewashed walls, as well as have had photos of themselves placed on a wall alongside those of early rock-and-roll pioneers.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum designated the Surf Ballroom a historical landmark on January 27, 2009. The ceremony giving landmark status to the site kicked off a week-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the February 2, 1959, "Winter Dance Party" concert and the tragic incident of February 3, 1959.
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“Man watches his history on the screen with apathy and an occasional passing flicker of horror or indignation.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien (b. 1917)
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
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—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)