{"nrhp_refnum":"82001462","name":"Valley Dale Ballroom","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1590 Sunbury Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":40.002367494000055,"lon":-82.93700732399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large rectangular wooden-frame ballroom at 1590 Sunbury Road in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, on a five-acre half-circle site bounded by a levee. The main structure dates to 1925 and was remodeled in 1941.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the nationally renowned ballroom dancehalls of the Big Band era of the 1930s and 1940s. In the early 1940s, CBS and Mutual Broadcasting System radio carried coast-to-coast broadcasts from its stage. It is described as one of the last few great American ballrooms of the era that keeps its interior and exterior furnishings and design.","narrative":"Valley Dale Ballroom is a large wooden-frame dancehall on Sunbury Road in Columbus, Ohio, set on a five-acre half-circle site bounded by a semi-circular levee. The first Valley Dale opened in 1918 and burned in a New Year's Eve fire in 1923. It was rebuilt in 1924-25 and remodeled in 1941 in the style of impresario Frank Daley's Meadowbrook Ballroom in New Jersey. That remodeling covered the exterior in permastone. Inside, a mezzanine overlooks the dancefloor, exposed wooden trusses support the roof, and curved recording booths flank the stage. In the early 1940s, CBS and Mutual Broadcasting System carried coast-to-coast radio broadcasts from the hall. Bands including Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey played there. The ballroom was listed as one of the few surviving great American ballrooms of the Big Band era that retains its original design. It faced condemnation in 1980 but reopened after rehabilitation in 1981.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1925, 1941)","architect_builder":"1925-Elford Inc.; 1941-Richard Tulley","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Threatened with condemnation by the City of Columbus in 1980, then rehabilitated and reopened in October 1981; restoration plans call for rebuilding the outdoor fence and bandstand.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.98941-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82001462.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001462/4c788b34f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001462/4c788b34f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wdzinc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valley_Dale_Ballroom.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wdzinc</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valley_Dale_Ballroom.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988615","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_Dale_Ballroom","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97356200"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/valley-dale-ballroom-82001462/"}