Ballroom


A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms. In other large houses, a large room such as the main drawing room, long gallery, or hall may double as a ballroom, but a good ballroom should have the right type of flooring, such as hardwood flooring or stone flooring. In later times the term ballroom has been used to describe nightclubs where customers dance, the Top Rank Suites in the United Kingdom for example were also often referred to as ballrooms. The phrase "having a ball" has grown to encompass many events where person are having fun, not just dancing.
Ballrooms are generally quite large, and may have ceilings higher than other rooms in the same building. The large amount of space for dancing, as well as the highly formal tone of events have given rise to ballroom dancing. The largest balls are now nearly always held in public buildings, and many hotels have a ballroom. They are also designed large to help the sound of orchestras carry well throughout the whole room.
A special case is the annual Vienna Opera Ball, where, just for one night, the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera is turned into a large ballroom. On the eve of the event, the rows of seats are removed from the stalls, and a new floor, level with the stage, is built.
Sometimes ballrooms have stages in the front of the room where the host or a special guest can speak. That stage can also be used for instrumentalists and musical performers.

List of hardwood US floor ballrooms

These lists should only include ballrooms with permanent wood floors. The size of the floor should only include the largest contiguous area without obstructions. The web sites and materials about some places add up multiple spaces, rooms, and balconies, and floors. However, this list ranks ballrooms based on the size of one single open space with a hardwood floor.
NameLocationSize YearReference
Coliseum BallroomSandusky, Ohio20,0001907
Aragon BallroomChicago, Illinois20,0001926
Sunnybrook BallroomPottstown, Pennsylvania15,2001931
Casino BallroomAvalon, California14,0001929
PalladiumWaikiki, Hawaii11,0001990
Cotillion BallroomWichita, Kansas11,0001960
Val Air BallroomDes Moines, Iowa8,7501961
Spanish BallroomGlen Echo, Maryland7,5001933
Hollywood BallroomSilver Spring, Maryland7,200????
Elite HallHyrum, Utah7,0001917
Surf BallroomClear Lake, Iowa6,3001948
Anhalt HallSpring Branch, Comal County, Texas6,3001908
Country Club Ballroom, Biltmore HotelCoral Gables, Florida6,2001926
Hammerstein BallroomManhattan, New York6,1001906
Vasa Park BallroomBellevue, Washington6,000????
Willowbrook BallroomWillow Springs, Illinois6,0001921
Vanity BallroomDetroit, Michigan5,6001929No site
Schroeder HallVictoria, Texas5,0001890
Swiss Alp HallSwiss Alp, Texas5,0001899
Electric Park BallroomWaterloo, Iowa5,1031936
Crystal BallroomPortland, Oregon3,6001914
Melody Grand BallroomPortland, Oregon3,5001925
Historic BallroomTwin Falls, Idaho3,1701922
Grand Palladian Ballroom at The Semple MansionMinneapolis, Minnesota3,0001880s-1890s
Elks Tower BallroomSacramento, California2,400????
Fullerton BallroomFullerton, California2,1451927
Lakeside BallroomGuttenberg, Iowa????1927
Oak BallroomSchuyler, Nebraska????1929
Cain's BallroomTulsa, Oklahoma11,0001924
Diamond BallroomOklahoma City, Oklahoma????1964