See renderings as Clear Lake breaks ground on larger visitor center for Surf Ballroom
Iowa's most venerated rock music landmark will soon have an expanded visitors center dedicated to preserving its story and fame.
Clear Lake on Wednesday held a groundbreaking for the new Music Enrichment and Immersive Center, to be built just to the west of the Surf Ballroom as part of a gateway to what the city calls the Surf District.
In addition to a visitor center, the new, two-story structure will house a ticket office, gift shop, studios for music lessons, conference space, a catering kitchen and an 1,800-square-foot immersive exploratory space to showcase the history behind the north Iowa resort town's claim to fame.
Future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, along with "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson, performed on their Winter Dance Party Tour at the Surf Ballroom on Feb. 2, 1959. Early the following morning, they were killed when a plane taking off to carry them to their next gig crashed in a snow-covered cornfield on the edge of town.
The 91-year-old venue holds an annual party of the same name to honor the rock legends. The loss of Holly is remembered as “the day the music died," so dubbed by singer Don McLean in his 1971 hit “American Pie.”
The ballroom was officially designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded the planned center a $4.3 million Destination Iowa Grant, and it also will receive a $400,000 Community Attraction and Tourism Grant. Other public and private investment in the project amounts to $35.2 million, and will include a gateway marker for the Surf District over Buddy Holly Place and a link from the ballroom to the lakeshore.
More: Sorry, 'American Pie,' but the music didn't die in Clear Lake. Just ask the fans.
Valens' sister Connie spoke at the ceremony.
"Walking through the doors of the Surf is new every time for me. It's a home away from home," she said. "When I heard about the enrichment center, I thought, yet another portion of the Surf is reaching out to touch different people in the community. To come in and learn what the Surf is all about — that's the music that was played here, is played here and will continue to be played here."
Architecture firm that designed the original Surf Ballroom to work on expansion
Built in 1933 on the north shore of Clear Lake by entrepreneur Carl J. Fox, the original Surf Ballroom was designed by Hanson & Waggoner, a Mason City architecture firm now operating in Clear Lake and Ankeny as ATURA Architecture.
The Surf burned down on April 20, 1947. While it had been sold to Prom Inc. of Chicago, the original developer, Carl Fox, intervened and once again turned to Hanson & Waggoner for design and construction of a new ballroom.
Although it retained its original beach club style, the new Surf had more seating and a larger dance floor. Today, its noted as a well-preserved example of the Moderne style of architecture. Elements of the original Surf will be incorporated into the new center, according to the city.
The center will serve as a starting point for tours of both the ballroom and Fox's preserved home across North Shore Drive.
Under terms of the state grant, the work on the new structure must be completed by mid-2026.
Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 and ALathers@registermedia.com, and follow and Twitter at @addisonlathers.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Work to begin on new Surf Ballroom visitor center in Clear Lake
