Gary and I just returned from a trip to Clear Lake, Iowa, dancing at the famous Surf Ballroom. What a treat. For those of you who dance, you know there are just not that many historic old ballrooms left. And if The Surf isn’t, as Gary would say, a grand old lady, she certainly is a frisky teen.
The décor is an over the top 50-esque idea of a fantasyland, and it really does feel as if you’d entered a mermaid’s domain: giant painted ocean murals ring the space, carved fish on every booth, blue tiled bathrooms, and best of all, a mirrored ball that projects millions of little bubbles over the dance floor.
The Surf could use some work. The wood floor needs to be redone. Badly. And the whole place has an overall tired quality, as if its better days were long past. We met some nice people. One man was surprised we’d come all the way from Indy to see the ballroom. And maybe therein lies the problem. Even with dancing enjoying a new resurgence, it still isn’t the“go to” activity it once was.
I hope The Surf survives. But if it doesn’t, I’m very glad I got to see it.
