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22-751: The Balboa Pier was constructed in 1906 as a sister project of the Balboa Pavilion . The Newport Bay investment Company wanted to attract lot buyers to an undeveloped spit of sandy land now called the Balboa Peninsula. In order to do so, they built both the Balboa Pavilion and the Balboa Pier. These two structures were built to coincide with the opening of the southern terminus of the Pacific Electric Railway Red Car line from Long Beach to

44-611: A fledgling alto sax player expressed an admiration for Jimmy, died in front of the TV while watching a Dorsey Brothers' show. When in November 1956 Tommy died in his sleep from choking on his own vomit, Jimmy, already desperately ill, carried on for some months with Tommy's silent trombone displayed on stage, until in June 1957 he succumbed to lung cancer. Jimmy and Tommy appeared as the Mystery Guests on

66-405: A restaurant and upstairs ballroom for banquets, receptions and conferences. 33°36′10″N 117°53′56″W  /  33.60278°N 117.89889°W  / 33.60278; -117.89889 Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey . They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records . The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for

88-642: A second story meeting room and a first story bathhouse. In the bathhouse, people could change from street attire into rented "bathing suits." Soon, yearly Fourth of July bathing beauty parades brought large gatherings of people to Balboa. The 1930s ushered in the Big Band era. On weekends the Pavilion featured such prominent bands as Count Basie , Benny Goodman , and the Dorsey Brothers . Phil Harris and his band played regularly on weekdays. The dance step called

110-431: Is a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Place . Established on July 1, 1906, the Balboa Pavilion played a prominent role in the development of Newport Beach by attracting real estate buyers to an area formerly designated as "swamp and overflow" land. The Balboa Pavilion is one of California's last surviving waterfront recreational pavilions from the turn of the century. The Pavilion continues to serve

132-566: The " Balboa " originated at the Balboa Pavilion and swept across the United States. The Pavilion had several upstairs and downstairs card rooms where patrons would gamble. Until the later 1930s, the Pavilion offered speed boat rides. Two speedy 35-foot (11 m) boats would take off full speed from underneath the Balboa Pavilion with sirens blaring and race out of the bay and into the Pacific Ocean. Right after World War II , Newport Harbor

154-820: The 1980s, the first of Orange County's Ruby's Diner restaurants opened on the pier. The 1940s nostalgia-themed restaurant has since become an Orange County landmark. The pier was heavily damaged in the severe El Niño storms of 1998, which also destroyed the famous diamond-shaped Aliso Pier in Laguna Beach . One of the pillars was damaged, causing a partial collapse of one corner. The wooden posts have since been reinforced with steel sheathing and braces to prevent further damage. 33°36′03″N 117°54′00″W  /  33.60092°N 117.90006°W  / 33.60092; -117.90006 Balboa Pavilion The Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach , Orange County , California ,

176-642: The 65-foot (20 m)-high Victorian style building was fully completed to coincide with the completion of the Pacific Electric Railway Red Car Line extension to central Balboa near the Balboa Pavilion on July 4, 1906, after only 10 days of construction. With the extension of the Red Car line, People began to flock to Balboa and some purchased lots, and, thus, the Newport Investment Company's plan worked. The original building had

198-618: The Balboa Pavilion Company branched off from Davey's Locker and took over ownership of the Pavilion. In late November 2005, the Balboa Pavilion Company sold the Balboa Pavilion to the Gugasians. Currently, the Balboa Pavilion is used as a marine recreation facility, with sportfishing boats, the transportation terminal for the Catalina Flyer to Catalina Island , small boat (skiff) and (duffy) rentals, whale watching, sunset cruises,

220-412: The Balboa Peninsula. The plan worked; multitudes of beachgoers flocked to Balboa, and many purchased lots. The pier is a popular fishing spot. The fish caught from the pier consist mostly of mackerel and flounder . The pilings are home to a large population of starfish that feed on the large colonies of mussels growing there. Fishermen catching starfish by mistake are a relatively common sight. In

242-458: The Cupula on top of the building, additionally serve as a navigation beacon for night boat travelers. In 1969, Davey's Locker Inc., a sport fishing operation, purchased the Balboa Pavilion to provide a permanent terminal for the expansion of its Catalina Island passenger service. Its president, Phil Tozer, refurbished the building's interior to reflect the early 1900s architecture. On May 20, 1980,

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264-539: The Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra carrying on under Jimmy's leadership. Tommy's chair was filled by the 16-year-old Bobby Byrne. The Dorseys reunited on March 15, 1945, to record a V-Disc at Liederkranz Hall in New York City. Released in June 1945, the disc contained " More Than You Know " and "Brotherly Jump". The songs were performed by the combined orchestras of Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. They reunited again in 1947 for

286-622: The Newport Harbor side of the sand spit and its sister project, the Balboa Pier , on the adjacent ocean side of the sand spit, which is today called the Balboa Peninsula . These two structures were built to attract lot purchasers to this area of Newport Beach called Balboa. The pavilion was designed by Los Angeles freelance architect Fred R. Dorn, who would later go on to work as an associate of Morgan, Walls & Clements . On July 1, 1906,

308-636: The brothers steadily building up, until a definitive falling out between Tommy and Jimmy over the tempo of "I'll Never Say Never Again Again" in May 1935, after which Tommy walked off the stage. Glenn Miller composed four songs for the Dorsey Brothers when he was a member in 1934 and 1935, " Annie's Cousin Fannie ", on which both Tommy and Glenn share the rather racy vocal, " Dese Dem Dose ", " Harlem Chapel Chimes ", and " Tomorrow's Another Day ". Miller left in late 1934 to take up

330-460: The dime store labels ( Banner , Cameo , Domino , Jewel, Oriole, Perfect ). A handful of sides during their Brunswick period were issued by Vocalion . They signed to Decca in 1934, formed a touring band, with Tommy as front man, and a rather unusual lineup of one trumpet, three trombones, three saxes and four rhythm. The band performed live mainly in the New England area, with acrimony between

352-467: The film The Fabulous Dorseys . In 1950, Jimmy disbanded his orchestra and joined Tommy's band on a permanent basis. On May 23, 1953, the combined orchestra made its television debut on the Jackie Gleason Show . Starting in 1954, they had a network TV series, Stage Show produced by Jackie Gleason. Elvis Presley made his national television debut on their show in 1956. Charlie Parker , who as

374-532: The job as Ray Noble 's musical director and arranger. In 1935, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra had two No. 1 recordings on Decca, including " Lullaby of Broadway " with Bob Crosby on vocals, topping the charts for two weeks and No. 1 for three weeks. Tommy Dorsey permanently left the orchestra in 1935 to take over the Joe Haymes band, turning it into Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, with the nucleus of

396-509: The pins. Because the Pavilion is anchored on a narrow strip of sandy waterfront, about 90% of the building was supported on wooden pilings, which extend over the bay. In 1947, the wooden pilings deteriorated, and the building began to collapse into the bay. In 1947 or 1948, the Gronsky family purchased the deteriorated Balboa Pavilion at a very low price and replaced the deteriorating original wooden pilings with large, concrete pilings. The result

418-509: The public today as a marine recreational facility and is Newport Beach's most famous landmark, as well as its oldest standing building. On September 20, 1905, the War Department in Washington D.C. granted a group of promoters, called the "Newport Bay Investment Company," permission to construct the Pavilion as a "boat-house, bath-house, and pavilion." The promoters built the pavilion on

440-419: Was a newly fortified, element-resistant city landmark. In the later 1940s and early 1950s the Balboa Pavilion housed a "Skil-O-Quiz" bingo parlor which gave prizes rather than cash. But bingo was deemed too wicked, was outlawed, and the sheriff shut the establishment down. In 1954, Gronsky instituted a shell museum upstairs. The museum displayed over 2.5 million shells. Eventually, the shell fish collection

462-537: Was donated to Bowers Museum in Santa Ana . In 1961, the Gronskys sold the Balboa Pavilion to Ducommun Realty Company of Los Angeles. Edmond G. "Alan" Ducommun's "mission" was to restore the building to its original 1906 look, and he generously invested an estimated one million dollars into the property. In 1963, Ducommun added 1500 lights to the buildings exterior which remain on the building today. These lights, along with

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484-429: Was the center of sport fishing activity in southern California with over 100 boats and 9 landings, one of which operated out of the Pavilion. Today, only two sport fishing landings with less than ten boats survive, one of which still operates out of the Balboa Pavilion. In 1942, the Pavilion's owners leased the upstairs of the building to a gentleman who built and operated a ten-lane bowling alley. Pinsetters hand set

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