From Ballrooms to Birds

In 1929, George C. Reifel built and owned Vancouver's Commodore block on a section of Granville Street known as Theatre Row. It was a ballroom cabaret over retail shops located at street level. A bowling alley is located on the lower level - the Vancouver Vagabond wrote on this bowling alley in a previous entry and there is a scene in the Commodore Bowling Alley in my book, A Little Poison.

The Commodore Ballroom was famous for its dance floor sprung with tires and horsehair with a state-of-the-art stage and acoustics and was served by a freight elevator used to move heavy musical and theatrical equipment.

If you are interested in knowing more about the Commodore Ballroom and its history, watch for a book by Aaron Chapman, the author of Liquor, Lust and the Law: The Story of Vancouver's Legendary Penthouse Nightclub,.

In the 1940s, the Reifel family added the Vogue Theatre and the Studio Theatre. George H. Reifel - George C's son - owned the complex until the 1970s. That was when the City of Vancouver decided to create the 'Granville Mall'. The Reifels sold their property.

I'm not finished telling you about the man who started this all, Henry Reifel. Henry was active in regional community affairs. He was a life governor of the Vancouver General Hospital, a member of the Board of Trade, President of the Nanaimo Pioneers and a member of the Vancouver Pioneers Association. Henry donated land for the original Vancouver Art Gallery on Georgia Street and in 1928, he built a wing on the Ocean View Mausoleum. A charter member of the Point Grey Golf Club, the Reifel patriarch was also one of the organizers of the Eagle Lodge in Nanaimo. Henry Reifel died in Vancouver on September 4, 1945. He was 76 years old.

If you remember, George C. Reifel was the oldest child of Henry and Annie. He worked in the family business but he also owned a 500-acre farm on Westham Island at the mouth of the Fraser River Estuary. George C. was Alberta Distilleries, an Alberta company formed in 1946 with oil and natural gas tycoon, Frank M. McMahon.

The Reifel family have left their impression on my city. Not only with the mansion Casa Mia on Southwest Marine Drive - I found a listing from 2007 where the property was listed for $12 million - and the Commodore block but also with the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary is one of the richest treasures donated to the preservation of wildlife and the study of nature in North America. It is located just south of Richmond, BC, on Westham Island - a forty-minute drive from downtown Vancouver.

I admit, I started this three part series on the Reifel family because of rumours that they were involved with running alcohol to the States during the prohibition. I don't know if they were and it isn't important. What is important is the mark this family has left on Vancouver and how they contributed to the city's growth.

Once again, I got the information from the Reifel geneology page on Tripod.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

A Commodore

Hiya, I'm back after two days of rest. How was your weekend?

Today I am writing about a couple of places that are on the entertainment side of our history.

This art deco building is built in the late 1920s by George Conrad Reifel  and designed by H.H. Gillingham is home to two of this city's legendary venues.

First is the Commodore Bowling and Billiards. The lanes were established in 1930 but as a young man named Frank showed me today there are a few things there that predate that.

The paintings along the walls are all done by this J. Denney and apparently about two years before the place opened.

There is a write up on a gentleman by the name of Mitz Nozaki, one of the most respected men in five pin bowling. He worked that the Commodore Lanes from 1930 to 1962. Then, after the owner Frank Panvini, passed away Nozaki owned the Lanes from 1962 to 1990. Nozaki passed away in 2004.

But before then he had stories to tell of the Commodore Lanes. He recalls a time in 1932 when a gentleman rode up on a horse which he tied to a telephone pole outside before coming inside. The man was Roy Rogers. Shoes have been rented to the likes of Jack Benny, Clark Gable and Buster Crabb.

The photos on the walls tell of the history and recognition that this place has. More recent celebrity visitors include the cast of Twilight, member of AC/DC and the Jonas Brothers.

From the moment I walked down those stairs I have to admit that I could feel that I was in the oldest bowling alley in Canada.

The changes that this bowling has seen. Gone are the days when the lanes had to be sanded by one person - on hands and knees handplaning and levelling then shellac. Now it is all done by a machine. And young people don't have to risk injury by setting the pins themselves. Once again the age of machines helps out.

And you may really like the murals as you descend the stairs from street level to the basement where the lanes are.

These bowling lanes have been around a long time and I hope they are here for many more years to come.

Next we have the Commodore Ballroom - a few doors down from the bowling alley in the same complex.

In December of 1929 the Commodore Cabaret. Thanks for the Great Depression the Commodore closed for a brief period but reopened in November of 1930. It is known for the sprung dance floor - a horshair lining under the floor. My research has also just informed me that there is a grand spiral staircase leading to the upper levels.

It has known many owners since its creation. For almost forty years it showcased the talents of such artists like Sammy Davis Jr., Tommy Dorsey, bandleader Charlie Pawlett.
In 1969 Drew Burns took it over and made the night club into a rock haven. Acts such as Powder Blues Band, David Bowie, The Police, The Stray Cats, Devo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Brown, Oasis and so many others have graced the stage over the years. It did close for awhile in 1996 but after a major renovation it reopened under the banner of the House of Blues in 1999. It was voted in 2005 - during its year long celebration - as Vancouver`s favorite nightclub by a landslide. (This according to the Georgia Straight paper who held the annual contest.)
While walking around the Commodore today I happened to look down.

BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. I will have to go back, maybe next week, take a bunch of photos then write on the Hall of Fame. But this just proves that looking up can make you miss things!

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, The Commodore Ballroom, Commodore Bowling and Billiards,House of Blues,BC Entertainment Hall of Fame,walk,history,