Balboa Pavilion

Datec.1970

MediumPrint

Dimensions8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)

ClassificationsPrintmaking

Credit LineGift of Dan and Cathy Thomas

Object number2020.018

DescriptionNewport Harbor’s best-loved landmark, the cupola-topped Balboa Pavilion, has for almost 70 years offered a diverse program of entertainment and sports activities.

Built in 1905, it has housed a bingo parlor and a bowling alley, a shell museum, an art museum, and a skating rink. It is probably best remembered for its fabulous ballroom whose walls echoed the music of the Big Bands: Basie, Goodman, Miller, Kenton, and many more. The Pavilion enjoyed such nationwide popularity in the swing era that it gave birth to a dance known as the “Balboa Hop.”

The first Surfboard Championships (1932), the first Flight of the Snowbirds in 1926 (then called the Snowbird Regatta), and the first Tournament of Lights celebration (1908) centered their activities at the Pavilion.

Under title of twelve different owners since 1905, the Pavilion has undergone both interior and exterior changes over the years. Major exterior renovation was done in 1961 by the Ducommun Realty Co. who held title to the property at the time. In 1969 it was acquired by Davey’s Locker, Inc., which firm has completed interior remodeling and face-lifting… a commendable job which preserves the authenticity of its earlier glory.

The building presently houses the Tale of the Whale, a superior seafood restaurant overlooking the water; the adjacent Spouter Saloon, a General Store, Alden’s Gift Shop; and sportfishing, tackle shop, and skiff rental concessions.

That big cruiser you may see moored at the west end is the “Pavilion Queen” (not shown in our etching), a sightseeing and party boat. The Newport to Catalina Passenger Boat departs from the Pavilion, as do the Whale Watch cruises, which begin in late December and usually run through February, when what are left of the estimated 300,000 (in the mid-1850s) great grey whales migrate from their summer home in the arctic along the California coast to the breeding waters of Scammon’s Lagoon in Baja California.

Written by the artist, Scott FitzGerald

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