Sometimes, I get lucky on the internet. I’ve been trying to find more images from the Evergreen Ballroom of Olympia, Washington for quite a few years now. Sam Carlson created a nice webpage about this place at his PNWBands.com site. I’ve found a great James Brown poster from the Evergreen, that I used in a blog posting when the Godfather of Soul died, also seen in the Art of Rock book, but I couldn’t find much else on this place.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Evergreen Ballroom was a significant location in LOUIE LOUIE history, as it was the was the first place Richard Berry performed in the Northwest when he did a 1957 tour with Bobby Bland, Junior Parker and Etta James. I believe it was this very show where many folks in the Pacific Northwest first heard LOUIE LOUIE, which was released that year on Flip Records. Four years later, Rockin Robin Roberts (with the Wailers) and Little Bill and the Adventurers released the very first covers of Richard Berry’s song in 1961, which inspired a multitude of recordings, including the Kingsmen, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and a handful of other Northwest bands. I’ve been trying to find some mementos from this particular club, and it hasn’t been easy.
This week I got lucky. Mike Shea found me on the internet, and shared some photos that he took of some of the posters that were displayed inside the Evergreen Ballroom, a few months before the place was destroyed in a fire. Unfortunately, these aren’t exactly high-resolution, and there’s no detailed images of any single poster.
I’m just happy to see them. I regret that I never made the effort to find this place when I was living in Washington. Now, it’s gone forever….
Mike also shared a link for a photo of his friend Fon Morcus, who was the last owner of this historic nightclub.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/neighbors/lacey/scene4.html
Take a look at these pictures that Mike shared with me….
One of these posters is actually a reproduction, or a homage to the spirit of the Evergreen. It’s nice, but it’s definitely not an original. Can you spot it?
If ANYONE has any more images from the Evergreen Ballroom, or other great dancehalls from the Pacific Northwest, PLEASE drop me an email.
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For those you that feel inclined to “borrow” these particular images, please give credit to Mike Shea who provided these excellent images.
Everything else on this webpage is mostly copyright Eric Predoehl / LouieLouie.net, with the exception of the stuff I borrowed……..
In 1992 we made our first gig in the famous Ballroom as an 80’s cover band. No other club in the NW had that “feel” to it where you could really sense the music that had been played there before you. The atmosphere was one of a kind. We played there throughout the 90’s and were greatly saddened for Fon and his loss. I think every musician that ever played there felt a spiritual loss when she went up in smoke…
Bassist – “Motion”
Respekt! Ein wirlich gelungene Seite.
I also played there all thru the 90`s in a classic rock band, there was decades of Seattle music history in this building, what a huge loss, I remember setting up on the very large stage & seeing the stage fusebox in shambles from bands tearing it apart, its so un-fortunate that a huge piece of washingtons music history burned up…..if the building would have been maintained a little better maybe it wouldnt have happend,,,,,hell i was affraid to plug any of my digital equipment into that electrical system…..it was a mess, but a very fun place to play
I DJ ed there when the owner decided to switch to a dj kinda style format. I had the best times of my life and truly wish i could go back into time. I was a star there at the ballroom DJ JAY B
hello–when did fred and ginger come to the green???? thanks gary ps my parents met there in old 42!!!!!
HI!
I think the BB King poster is not a original. Do I win any of the posters for getting that right? : )
Enjoyed the article very much!
Cheers!
/Mikael
Sorry!
I just realized the building burned down… Not my intention to joke about such a loss!
I miss that place, we saw Foghat there in ’96 and it was great.
Was a bouncer there in the 90s sad to see it burned. Had some great memories there and some good fights. LOL Rob RLTW
My time there was in the 60s. The owner at the time (Dick Campbell) hired me and my brothers to help set up for concerts and clean up afterwards. We got to meet and goof off with some pretty great people: Merrilee and the Turnabouts, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Canned Heat, the Bards, and The wailers to name a few. What a great time and place!!! “The Green” absolutely rocked !!!
I went there many times in the 90’s. There were two rooms, the Bar which had a karaoke section down at the end. Then the main room where the cover bands played in front of the dance floor and pool tables. It was basically “Road House” without as many fights. The only “concert” I ever attended in my life was one night at the Ballroom when Tommy Tutone was there. I stayed just long enough to hear them play “867-5309”.