144:. The Aragon soon went into decline. In 1963 it was opened briefly for dancing by Ralph Morris, the promoter from The Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa. "The Beach Boys" opened, and "The Challengers" were the dance band. But "Surf music" did not produce the crowds it had in Balboa, and the Aragon was soon closed again. During 1965-66 it became a roller skating rink. A famous Roller Derby skater, Charlie "Specs" Saunders was the owner. Around 1967 it became the Cheetah Club where bands including The Doors and Pink Floyd played as well as The Nazz (an outfit that evolved into Alice Cooper not the band featuring Todd Rundgren). It was destroyed by a fire on May 26, 1970.
51:, was erected in 1922. The pier was situated at the foot of Navy Street adjoining the south side of the Pickering Pier. Lick Pier was, in 1922, almost entirely in Venice. It was 800 feet long and 225 feet wide. At the opening of Lick Pier and the Bon Ton Ballroom on Easter weekend 1922, the ballroom was 22,000 square feet, and the pier featured a Zip roller coaster, a Dodge'em, Caterpillar rides, and Captive Aeroplane rides. Development, costing $ 250,000, commenced in 1921 and was financed by Charles Jacob Lick (1882–1971), Austin Aloysius McFadden (1875–1960), and George William Leihy (1865–1940).
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lights and 14,000 square feet (1,300 m) of floor space, from owner
Charles Lick. Schooler renamed it the Aragon, then spent some $ 50,000 to refurbish it. But the balance of his reported $ 250,000 per year gross income came from his several roles as dance hall impresario, bandleader and promoter, which by August 1943 included seven nights a week at the Aragon Ballroom, Friday and Saturday nights with the Swing Shift Dances (12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m.) at the nearby Casino Gardens, monthly dances for
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Schooler, whose Swing Shift Dances had originally been held at the nearby Casino
Gardens, signed a 10-year lease in 1942 for the old Ocean Park venue, which was said to have 1,500 electric lights and 14,000 square feet (1,300 m) of floor space, from owner Charles Lick. Schooler renamed it the
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during the graveyard shift, a job which he later claimed he retained to protect himself from the wartime draft. His Swing Shift Dances had originally been held at the nearby Casino
Gardens until he signed a 10-year lease in 1942 for the old Ocean Park venue, which was said to have 1,500 electric
118:, offered Welk the opportunity to appear on television, and on May 11, 1951, the station began broadcasting a weekly show live from the Aragon featuring Welk's band. The show evolved into
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was set and filmed at the Aragon and remains the best film evidence of what the ballroom looked like in its heyday. The fictional "Pacific
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show, though he had been a regular there for some years prior. Welk's orchestra played to crowds numbering as high as over 13,000 people.
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517:"The Doors, The Nazz, The Watts 103rd Str. Rhythm Band, August 22-27, # 1 Navy St, Ocean Park, Santa Monica, CA. - Aragon Ballroom"
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178:. Country was led by Tom Snow and Michael Fondiler, R.I.P. Their song, "Aragon Ballroom," was produced by
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A band, that recorded on
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venue opened under the Aragon name in March 1942 by dance promoter Harry
Schooler (1918–2008).
430:. The Internet Archive. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. September 1947. p. 50.
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was modeled after the Aragon, although the film itself was shot on a soundstage in
Burbank.
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Lawrence Welk visiting the charred remains of the Aragon
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had been, and would continue to be, booked to play at the ballroom.
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in Los
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magazine reported in July 1944 that "cowboy outfits" such as
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Welk’s stint at the Aragon ended in 1955, when he moved
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Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
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Burned buildings and structures in the United States
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Buildings and structures in Santa Monica, California
424:"Welk's Champagne Music Bubbling: Booked into '48".
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Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way, A Biography
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55:Aragon, then spent some $ 50,000 to refurbish it.
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114:, the manager of Los Angeles television station
33:Ocean Park district of Santa Monica, California
485:"Location jobs, not in hotels (Los Angeles)".
98:The Aragon was later known as the hall where
413:. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 8, 1944.
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699:Buildings and structures completed in 1922
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575:"Blaze Perils POP, Beach Restaurant"
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306:"PACIFIC OCEAN PARK AMUSEMENT PIER"
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380:Levinson, Peter J. (2009-03-25).
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239:Cheetah Club: 1967–1970
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121:The Lawrence Welk Show
579:The Los Angeles Times
550:gdvenues.blogspot.com
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386:. Hachette Books.
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393:978-0-7867-3494-8
335:"Ocean Park Pier"
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77:Culver City
648:Categories
618:33°59′45″N
589:2024-02-28
560:2024-02-28
531:2024-02-28
471:2024-02-28
349:2024-02-28
320:2024-02-28
292:References
281:Pink Floyd
271:The Leaves
153:featuring
108:television
497:cite book
436:cite book
410:Billboard
266:The Doors
227:Bob Wills
159:Doris Day
142:Hollywood
93:Bob Wills
84:Billboard
49:Lick Pier
583:Archived
554:Archived
525:Archived
465:Archived
343:Archived
314:Archived
104:big band
102:and his
488:Variety
427:Variety
71:at the
43:History
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244:1969:
225:1944:
219:1944:
35:was a
367:Time,
136:to a
503:link
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161:and
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