This installment in the People and Places series was written by DePaul University student Elie Crystal

One Saturday night this fall, a line of people snaked its way down Lawrence Avenue, waiting for the doors of the Aragon Ballroom to open. They were fans of Mexican accordionist Ramon Ayala. Many were there for their first time and excited to see the show. One woman named Lizette told me, “I’m going to freak out!” Ayala is her favorite singer and that concert was her first time seeing him live. The performance was typical of the many Latino shows the Aragon regularly hosts. The venue also features a wide range of other bands. Bob Dylan recently played several shows there.

The Aragon, near the intersection of Lawrence and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood, first opened in 1926 and for several decades served as a dance hall for young jazz, swing, and ballroom music fans. To get a sense of what the Aragon was like in its ballroom heyday, I talked with Ms. Jesse North. As a young woman in the late 1940s and early 1950s, she danced at the Aragon. For her, Saturday night at the Aragon was a special occasion. The girls dressed up—corsages and all. She remembers dancing the two-step, cha-cha, and tango. One of her dance partners eventually became her husband. Ms. North called the Aragon the best ballroom on the North Side, describing it as “an ancient castle with a beautiful night sky.”

Jesse North spent time at the Aragon in the early 1950s

From the 1940s, when Ms. North frequented the Aragon, to today, Uptown has seen some significant economic and social changes. Business and shopping districts have come and gone, with some even coming back. Migrants, immigrants, and refugees from around the world have called the neighborhood home. Regardless of these shifts, Chicagoans have enjoyed music and dance at the Aragon.

Listen as Jesse North remembers the Aragon

Where do you like to go dancing in Chicago?

> Learn more about the Aragon Ballroom

Tags: Aragon Ballroom, concerts, dancing, DePaul University, Elie Crystal, Jesse North, Music, North Side, People and Places, Peter Alter, Ramon Ayala, Uptown

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 4:18 pm and is filed under History, Multimedia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.