Arts & Culture
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La Monica Ballroom, built on this site in 1924 by internationally renowned ballroom designer T.H. Eslick, was once the largest ballroom in the world. Vast and ornate, it consumed so much of the Pier that, when viewed from the beach, it appeared as a monumental building floating magically above the sea. Its storied run on the Pier included the dance marathons during the Great Depression depicted in director Sydney Pollack's 1969 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". In 1948, popular country swing music star Spade Cooley first televised his weekly TV program from this ballroom, the first time a TV variety show was ever televised live.
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Santa Monica, California · United States
