A Bit about the history of Castle Ballroom:
Nomiantion and Summary Below Provided by:
Lynn JossePublic History Consultant
(314) 229-0793
Built in 1908 as Cave Hall, the venue was designed as a dance hall and
dancing academy. The owners, Cornelius Ahern and Herman Albers, built the hall
when their previous venue closed. Cave Hall became one of the major venues for social
dancing and dance instruction in St. Louis prior to the dawn of the Jazz Age. By the 1930s,
changing tastes in music and the nature of social dancing had transformed the city’s dancing scene into one that was driven by jazz bands rather than dance orchestras, and the renamed Castle Ballroom hosted many of the most famous acts of the 1930s and 1940s.
dancing academy. The owners, Cornelius Ahern and Herman Albers, built the hall
when their previous venue closed. Cave Hall became one of the major venues for social
dancing and dance instruction in St. Louis prior to the dawn of the Jazz Age. By the 1930s,
changing tastes in music and the nature of social dancing had transformed the city’s dancing scene into one that was driven by jazz bands rather than dance orchestras, and the renamed Castle Ballroom hosted many of the most famous acts of the 1930s and 1940s.
Located at the edge of St.Louis’ storied Mill Creek Valley neighborhood, the Castle became one of the only traditionally“white” halls to allow black customers. As the Castle transitioned into a black venue, it became one of only a few major halls that catered to an African American clientele. Since the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood was demolished almost in its entirety beginning in 1959, the Castle is one of the few extant buildings with significant associations to that community.
