Taken from my 5th book Cape Cod Nights
Address:
174 Rt. 28, West Yarmouth
Years
Active: 1930 – mid 1960's
In
present time when one thinks of nightlife it inevitably comes down to
one of two things, a nightclub or a bar. However in years past many
more events were considered part of the nightlife scene. This was
most certainly the case with the Rainbow Ballroom. This unique hot
spot was not big on alcohol however it routinely drew many hundreds
of locals and visitors inside its walls to partake in good fun after
dinner and after sunset.
The
story of this legendary establishment goes back to the Roaring
Twenties when Ernie Baker and his Novelty Orchestra was making a name
for himself all across Southeastern Massachusetts. Baker, a well
known local in Yarmouth, would often set up gigs for his orchestra at
the Mill Hill Pavilion, a popular live entertainment spot located in
West Yarmouth. As the 1920’s went on Baker had a plan to create a
more permanent home for his musical group.
In
June 1930 Baker purchased six lots of land located opposite the Mill
Hill Tavern. It was upon this land that he planned to build his very
own dance hall to house his Novelty Orchestra. The work on the
building was swift and it was ready for its debut within weeks. The
dance floor was remarked as the largest east of New Bedford. The
interior was decked out in pastel colors with white being the main
shade, including a white stage and a pristine and unique white piano
adorned with painted flowers. A contest would be held, with more
than a thousand entries, to name the new dance hall. The winning
name was the Rainbow Ballroom, the winning entry received $20 and two
season passes to the establishment.
Opening
night for the Rainbow Ballroom was Wednesday August 13, 1930. The
crowd was so large that the enormous dance floor was packed cheek to
cheek all night. It was a state of the art hot spot with the newest
in electric lighting allowing for the lights hitting the dance floor
to be changed to a variety of colors. The womens’ dressing rooms
even including electric curling irons. Two orchestras would keep the
music playing all night, the debut of Ernie Baker’s Rainbow Room
was a rousing success.
From
the start Baker maintain a high profile for himself as well as his
club. There would be themed dances such as a Thanksgiving Puritan
Ball and a Miss Cape Cod contest held on New Year’s Eve 1930. Miss
Gilbery Kelley of Hyannis Port would be crowned the winner out of 250
entrants, receiving a silver cup. Baker would also continue to play
gigs across the Cape and Southeastern Massachusetts with his
orchestra, undoubtedly enticing more to come and visit the Rainbow.
Baker
would up his game in 1931 by adding amateur basketball in the form of
the Hyannis Wanderers. Teams from all over the state would come to
play them. Typically the games were held on Wednesdays during the
season, with dancing happening both before and after. Ahead of his
time in marketing Baker would also give away a Sport Model Chevy
automobile which he had been using for advertising the Rainbow in
January 1932. His nightspot was gaining and maintaining its
popularity through many different avenues. The following year even
more would be added.
The
Rainbow Ballroom would begin throwing midnight dances, typically
running from midnight to 3am, they would be occasional occurrences
which kept them as must attend events. Later in 1933 Baker would
experiment with a new activity, rollerskating. This would become
such a hit that it would take place three times a week, drawing many
new faces. Baker would even rent out use of his building to others
for charitable events and the like.
Word
of mouth and positive experiences began to spread. In 1936 Chick
Webb and his NBC Orchestra would make an appearance at the Rainbow
being fronted by the one and only Ella Fitzgerald. It was during
this year that boxing would debut to add to the already popular
Hyannis All-Stars wrestling bouts which took place there. In 1938
Baker and his Rainbow Ballroom would see their greatest exposure as
they would routinely be promoted on the national Old-Fashioned Cafe
radio program. Show host Ken Singer had been playing at the
neighboring Old Mill Tavern and began to frequent Ernie Baker’s
popular establishment.
Despite
housing rollerskating, basketball, boxing, and wrestling, the Rainbow
would remain true to what its first event was, dancing. Throughout
the 1940’s and 1950’s there would be themed dances, midnight
dances, holiday party dances, charitable balls, and more. Ernie
Baker knew what his customers wanted and gave it to them. Long after
the Old Mill Tavern had gone out of business, replaced by the Mill
Hill Club, Ernie Baker’s Rainbow Room was still going strong.
By
the mid-1960’s, after around thirty-five years of ownership, Ernie
Baker closed his Rainbow Room and took a well-deserved retirement.
The building itself would remain dormant for several years before
being sold in 1970. In the more than four decades since the familiar
shell of the building has remained, housing such businesses as Quoddy
Moccasins Shoe Factory Outlet, French Shriner Shoes, Clancy’s
Restaurant, Reebok Outlet, and most recently a Salvation Army store.
However
no matter what business resides on the property it will always be
fondly remember by longtime Cape Codders as Ernie Baker’s Rainbow
Room. It was a unique nightspot which relied on dancing,
rollerskating, basketball, boxing, and wrestling everything but the
alcohol to claim its spot as a forefather of the golden age of Cape
Cod nightlife.
Despite
not being known for cocktails, if one had frequented the Rainbow
Ballroom during its heyday of the 1940’s for some dancing perhaps
they would have made a drink afterwards at home such as the popular
French 75.
French
75
-
3 oz Champagne
-
1 oz gin
-
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
-
1/2 oz simple syrup
Preparation:
Add
all of
the
ingredients except the Champagne into a shaker with ice and shake
well.
Strain
into a Champagne flute.
Top
with the Champagne
and garnish
with a lemon twist.
------------------------------------------
My 5th book, Cape Cod Nights, is on sale at Amazon.com and through Arcadia PublishingView my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Bartholomew Gosnold
Be sure to check out my website: Christopher Setterlund.com
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