See Balboa Pavillion in Buster Keaton’s Films!

Deconstructing our iconic pavillion

The Balboa, an eight-count WWII-era swing dance, has its roots here, but the fast-moving jitterbug was banned due to the building’s deterioration.

This is a link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehVZktW0BK4
(see 00:43)

The pavilion’s copula and long slanting roof line are recognizable in silent-film maker Buster Keaton’s “College” (1927), in a race between rowing teams in Newport Harbor, and in “The Cameraman” (1928), as the Westport Yacht Club.

“College”
This is a link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1CjcOXyUvQ
(see 56:18)

“The Cameraman”
This is a link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo85hdekH4w
(see 1:00:54)

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