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All article and photo credits are 100megspopup.com/ark, with additions, editing for clarity and other changes by Balboa Nation. 
1928 Rendezvous Ballroom entrance and sign click for larger view pop-up The Rendezvous Ballroom made for a spectacular display on the Balboa Peninsula. It was one block long and cost $200,000 -- a huge amount of money by the time it opened on March 24, 1928. Its giant 64-foot soda fountain sat on the ground level, with another fountain on the mezzanine and balcony above the dance floor. The lower level fountain was surround by several dozen couches, and the upper level had 50 more for relaxing on. Who was resting? Over 3,000 dancers (1,500 couples!) moved to the music on the beautiful 12,000 square foot dance floor. It was, as some called it, the "Queen of Swing". Below is an aerial photgraph of Newport-Balboa Harbor. The large black square in the center is the Ballroom's parking lot, and in front of it, the original Rendezvous Ballroom sandwiched between Palm and Walnut Street.  Newport-Balboa Harbor from the air click for larger view "Bal Week" In the early 1930's thousands of teenagers began to flock to the Balboa area during Easter vacation from all over Southern California. They would start an endless cycle of spending all day at the beach and then go dancing all night until 1:00am to the sounds of the swinging Big Bands at the Rendezvous Ballroom. When closing time came, they'd party until dawn at hundreds of overcrowded rental apartments and rooms throughout the Balboa and Newport Beach area. 
Teens relaxing on Balboa Beach during Bal Week click for larger view Disaster on the Peninsula It was January 27, 1935 (only 7 years after it was built) when the original Rendezvous ballroom went up in flames. However, the impact of the Ballroom on the community, and even Southern California, was easily recognized; they took just 3 months to rebuild it although the country was in the heart of the Depression Era (but at a fraction of the cost of the first). "Rendezvous Swingeree" By the late 1930's, the Rendezvous Ballroom became a major West Coast stop for any touring Big Band, with the performances of Harry James, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnete, Les Brown and more. Often accompanied by the famous vocalists of the Swing Era, they were regularly broadcast by radio stations nationwide. So large was it's impact that in 1938 the Ballroom was dubbed the "Queen of Swing" by Look Magazine. To celebrate the end of the 1938 school year, a KEHE Disk Jockey by the name of Al Poska organized a non-stop, 7-day, 24-hour Big Band dance marathon at the Rendevouzvous Ballroom with the name "Rendezvous Swingeree". It was officially scheduled to start at 6:00am on June 18, 1938, however Poska (pictured kneeling in the white jacket) actually opened the event at 5:30am with the eye-popping performance by the "jitterbug" dancers Roy Damron and Choppy Seed (pictured) on the sidewalk in front of the Ballroom entrance.
Birth, Death & Remembering The "Balboa" or "Bal" originated at the Rendezvous Ballroom, and quickly spread in popularity. The "Balboa Shuffle" is most useful when an extremely slow number is played, while the "Balboa Hop" is often utilized when the beat is blazingly fast and tricky for other dances. Both of "The Balboa" steps can be found done when the dance floor is too crowded for "Swing" dancing. More information on the Balboa and Bal Swing dance originations and continuation today, head to Balboa is.... Sadly, in the early morning hours of August 7, 1966 the Rendezvous Ballroom burned to the ground. This time there was no rebuilding, instead an apartment complex was built on the location later. On May 30, 1991, fans from all over the world gathered at the Hyatt Newporter Resort in Newport Beach, California to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stan Kenton's debut at the famed ballroom. They also came to pay homage to the "Rendezvous" and, of course, to dance "The Balboa". The Rendezvous Ballroom has a place in history along with many other historic and history-making dance halls such as the Savoy Ballroom (New York) or even Rendezvous' "sister", the Balboa Pavilion -- still featured at Newport Beach after all these years.  1986 Historical Site plaque near the Rendezvous location click for larger view
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