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THE ARAGON BALLROOM ENCASED FRANKLIN HALF
Fred Weinberg submitted this note on the Aragon Ballroom encased Franklin Half dollar.
-Editor
The Aragon Ballroom was built, or named, in 1942, and it was at the end of the pier that was built in the teen’s, I believe. My parents would take us to that pier on a summer day for ice cream and other treats, and fresh ocean air. The pier itself was named the Lick Pier, but I don’t recall hearing that name myself, so I assume it was either renamed, or just not named often, in the mid-late ’50’s and 60’s. By the early 60’s, Pacific Ocean Park (POP) opened up (named after the “Ocean Park’ on the encasement. There was a Ferris Wheel, games, etc. - and a cool ride that was a large plastic bubble that took riders over the ocean, from the pier and back. POP closed around 1964-65, as I recall, and the pier fell into disrepute. There was a fire on the pier a few years later, and it was destroyed. Phil Iversen adds: Google “Aragon Ballroom / Santa Monica” for more information about this old historic site. Bruce Perdue provides this answer to his Lick Pier question, from Wikipedia: "The Aragon was later known as the hall where Lawrence Welk and his big band, the "Champagne Music Makers," parlayed a scheduled four-week engagement in spring 1951 into a ten-year stint and a noted television show. Welk's orchestra played to crowds numbering as high as 7,000. Klaus Landsberg, the manager of Los Angeles television station KTLA, 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 The Lawrence Welk Show, broadcast each Saturday night on ABC. Welk’s stint at the Aragon ended in 1955, when he moved The Lawrence Welk Show to a television studio in Hollywood. The Aragon soon went into decline. Around 1967 it became the Cheetah Club, where bands including The Doors, Alice Cooper (then called Nazz), and Pink Floyd played. It was destroyed by fire on May 26, 1970."
Thanks, everyone.
-Editor
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