The Byline BankAragon Ballroom[2] is a ballroom turned event space located in Chicago in the Uptown neighborhood, approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of Downtown.
History
Ballroom interior in 2009
The Aragon Ballroom was built by brothers Andrew and William Karzas, who turned to ballrooms after making their early fortunes in nickelodeons and movie theaters.[3] Their first dance hall project was the 1922 Trianon Ballroom in Chicago designed by renowned theater architects Rapp & Rapp. With hopes of duplicating the success of the Trianon, the brothers opened the Aragon on July 15, 1926, once again turning to movie theater experts for building design. Architects Huszagh & Hill designed the Aragon’s stucco exterior in Spanish Baroque style while movie palace designer John Eberson decorated the interior to resemble the courtyard of a Moorish castle.[4][5][6]
Named for a region of Spain, the Aragon was an immediate success and has remained a popular Chicago music attraction for many decades. The Aragon's proximity to the Chicago 'L' train provided patrons with easy access, and often crowds in excess of 18,000 would attend during each six-day business week. Each night, powerhouse radio station WGN broadcast an hour-long program from the hall to audiences throughout the United States and Canada. Some reports indicate the broadcast was heard overseas in Britain.
A fire at an adjacent cocktail lounge in 1958 forced the Aragon to close for several months. After the reopening, crowds declined significantly, to the point that regular dancing ended in 1964. A succession of new owners used the Aragon as a roller skating rink, a boxing venue, and a discothèque,[7][8] among other uses. There were also occasional efforts to revive it as a traditional ballroom.
The Aragon hosted nearly all of the top names of the big band era. Shows were radio broadcast nationally and even heard in Europe. During the 1970s, the Aragon was home to "monster rock" shows which were marathons of rock music acts often lasting six hours or more.
In 1973, Latin promoters Willy Miranda and Jose Palomar, who had promoted Hispanic dances and concerts in Chicago for years, became owners of the Aragon. They soon teamed up with rock promoters Arny Granat and Jerry Mickelson (owners of Chicago-based Jam Productions, which by 2017 claimed to be the "largest independent producer of live entertainment in the United States"), who used the hall for their rock concerts.[9][10][11]
World championship boxing made its way to the Aragon Ballroom on December 15, 1982, when the World Boxing Association's world Cruiserweight champion, Puerto RicanOssie Ocasio, successfully defended his title by beating challenger Eddie Taylor by a 15 rounds decision.[12]
In the late 1990s, Luis Rossi (former owner of La Raza newspaper), Ivan Fernandez, and Mercedes Fernandez purchased the Aragon. In September 2014, Mercedes Fernandez sold all her interests in the Aragon. Under the name "Aragon Entertainment Center", the hall continued to host a variety of Spanish language and Vietnamese language shows as well as English language rock concerts. It still hosts occasional boxing events.
As of late 2017, Live Nation owns the Aragon Ballroom, and produces a variety of English language and Spanish language pop and rock concerts there.[15][16]
Exterior of venue (c.2018)
Live recordings
On April 19, 1975, electronic band Kraftwerk played at the Aragon Ballroom to an audience of 3000 spectators.
In March 1978, classic rock band Aerosmith played at the Aragon Ballroom, later releasing the recordings of "Sweet Emotion" and "Lord of the Thighs" on their 1978 Live! Bootleg album.
The 2009 Deluxe Edition of R.E.M.'s Reckoning album includes a live concert taped at the Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984, and broadcast on WXRT in Chicago.
The opening act was the California band The Dream Syndicate.
On October 23 and 25, 1993, grunge band Nirvana played at the Aragon for their final two shows in Chicago. During the show on the 23rd the band played the song "You Know You're Right" for the first and only time live. A recording of the song from this show was bootlegged for nine years until they decided to release the studio version on October 8, 2002, as part of the greatest hits album Nirvana.
On November 18, 1994, punk rock band Green Day's performance to a sold-out crowd at the Aragon was recorded for MTV as "MTV Jaded in Chicago".[17]
On August 22, 1995, a Soul Asylum concert was recorded at the Aragon for the Album Network and two songs were released on the "Promises Broken" CD single.
During a performance on October 17, 2009, sludge metal band Mastodon recorded a live album and concert DVD at the venue. Live at the Aragon was released on March 15, 2011.
In June 2013, Third Man Records released a live album of The White Stripes' performance at the venue from July 2, 2003, as part of their From the Vault series.
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