The Avalon Ballroom is a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco that operated briefly from 1966-8, and was reopened in 2003. It is located at 1268 Sutter Street, on the north side, one building east of the corner of Sutter and Van Ness. Large events include Pagan Fest USA which is held in May.

Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Closure and restoration 4 Sources 5 External links

[edit] History

The building that housed the Avalon Ballroom was built in 1911 and was originally called the Colin Traver Academy of Dance. The Avalon was founded by Robert E Cohen, impresario Chet Helms and his music production company, Family Dog Productions, which had offices on Van Ness.

In the 1960s at the Avalon, two bands typically performed two sets during the evening beginning at about nine o'clock. Many local bands, such as Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band, served as backup bands, as did the early Moby Grape and headliners such as the 13th Floor Elevators, the Butterfield Blues Band, and Big Brother and the Holding Company, which Helms organized around singer and performer Janis Joplin in spring 1966. Joplin and Big Brother performed in June 1967 on several occasions.

Bands were frequently booked to perform at the Avalon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Extraordinary posters advertising each event were produced by psychedelic artists such as Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelly and Victor Moscoso.

[edit] Description

The Avalon occupied the two top floors of the multi-story building at 1268 Sutter. An L-shaped, second-floor balcony surrounded the first-floor along the south and western walls, and the dance area was in front of the elevated stage in the northeast corner where musicians performed. The entrance doors were downstairs, and opened onto Sutter Street. ^{[1] [2]}

The Family Dog maintained a hippie residential house that functioned as a commune at 1812 Bush Street, a block away from the Avalon, frequented by Helms and his friends. The Avalon was not as large as the Winterland or Fillmore music venues, which had been used by Helms before Bill Graham allegedly violated their partnership agreements. However, the Avalon had the capacity to hold up to 500 people. The ballroom was 80 to 100 feet (30 m) wide and 160 to 180 feet (55 m) long. This area included the stage, which was 40 to 50 feet (15 m) wide. The dance floor could accommodate several hundred dancers. An omnipresent light show was created by several local lighting companies.

[edit] Closure and restoration

The Avalon lost its lease in November 1968; Cohen and Helms moved on to other pursuits--Chet became an art dealer while still occasionally producing concerts. Robert would go on to form Bob Cohen Sound, a national touring audio company that would tour with many former Avalon acts and later founded Clearcom Intercom Systems. The Regency was converted to the Regency 2 movie theater, which operated until 2001. In 2003, after learning from Stanley Mouse that the building was available, neo-hippie Steve Shirley (aka Morning Spring Rain) of the Hog Farm commune restored and re-opened the Avalon Ballroom as part of the Regency Center, a music hall and special-events space.^[3]

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

• Avalon Ballroom Posters at www.janisjoplin.net
• Regency Center - houses the renovated Avalon Ballroom
• S.F.Heart - The Avalon Ballroom
• [1] Robert Cohen's Website

37°47′15″N 122°25′17″W / 37.78761°N 122.42129°W / 37.78761; -122.42129