National Historic Landmark · ballroom · Clear Lake, Iowa

Surf Ballroom

United States historic place in Clear Lake, Iowa. Added to the National Register in 2011, and a National Historic Landmark.

Has a visitor websiteNational Historic LandmarkListed 2011Moderne architecture
2015-10-11 Surf Ballroom 12015-10-11 Surf Ballroom 2Clear Lake, Iowa bannerCopy of Telegram Sent to family of JP Richardson from Presley and Parker
Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

Wikipedia · Surf Ballroom

The Surf Ballroom is a Historic Rock and Roll Landmark at 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, Iowa, United States. The Surf is closely associated with the event known colloquially as "The Day the Music Died" – early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson gave their last performances at the Surf on February 2, 1959, as part of the "Winter Dance Party Tour".

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

National Register of Historic Places
Property typeBuilding
Address460 N Shore Dr, Clear Lake, IA
CountyCerro Gordo County
ListedSep 6, 2011
Reference number10000261
Type of placeballroom
StyleModerne architecture
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark
Contributing resources1 buildings

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Check the website
Address460 N Shore Dr, Clear Lake, IA
Websitesurfballroom.com ↗
Coordinates43.14180, -93.38995 · Directions ↗
Nearest national park unitEffigy Mounds National Monument · 111 mi · on Park Atlas
Listing on the Register does not open the door. Unless a museum or park runs it, treat this as private property and see it from the sidewalk.

Explore

Why you would stay

Map

4 nearby listings

Reference

Exists because it is true

Sources

Location, dates, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 10000261. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.