Dance with Me in Uptown
North Side
The Uptown neighborhood has long been a destination for Chicagoans seeking the latest entertainment and nightlife. In 1926, crowds of dancers and music lovers were drawn to Uptown to one of the city's most extravagant and popular dance halls, the Aragon Ballroom.
A framed cartoon in the collections of the National Hellenic Museum celebrates one of the founders of the Aragon and other iconic entertainment venues throughout the city.
Brothers Andrew and William Karzas, Greek immigrants and entrepreneurs, began entertaining Chicagoans by opening several small movie theaters on the South Side. After successfully opening an expansive and opulent dance hall, the Trianon, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, the Karzas brothers looked to find the same success on the North Side. The Aragon Ballroom opened at Lawrence and North Winthrop on July 15, 1926.
With strict rules and hired chaperones to insure respectability, the Karzas dance halls were seen as safe places for low and middle class young women and men to socialize and enjoy this popular form of recreation. The Trianon and Aragon were host to some of the most popular big bands and dance orchestras of their time, bringing in large crowds six nights a week.
As the music, dance, and leisure trends changed, the Karzas brothers continuously adapted their business and continued to draw crowds for decades. Those that could not come to the Aragon could gather around their radios to listen to WGN Radio's "Live from the Aragon Ballroom" broadcasts to hear the performances of major music acts.
Many Chicago dance halls including the Aragon and the Trianon had policies that excluded people of color for decades. This led to the opening of new nightclubs on the South Side where black Chicagoans could enjoy music and dancing. These clubs fostered community for African Americans coming to Chicago from the South and contributed to the growth of jazz.
