Balinese Room

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The Balinese Room in 2006.

The Balinese Room was a well-known nightclub in Galveston, Texas built on a pier stretching 600 feet from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, the Balinese Room was remodeled and reopened in 2001 (minus the gambling). In 1997 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1 History
2 Present day
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] History

Operated by Sicilian immigrant barbers-turned-bootleggers Sam and Rosario Maceo, the Balinese Room was an elite spot during the 1940s and 1950s, featuring entertainment by Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, George Burns and other top acts of the day. Patrons of the private club included Howard Hughes, Sophie Tucker and wealthy oil barons from nearby Houston.

The Balinese Room was originally opened in 1929 as "The Grotto," one of the many entertainment venues that had begun popping up along the Galveston Seawall (along with bathhouses, dance and supper clubs, many of which were illegal casinos).

In 1932, the Grotto was remodeled into a Chinese restaurant called the "Sui Jen" (pronounced Swee Rin), and a 200 foot pier, stretching out over the Gulf, was added to the building with a T-head at its end. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the name was changed to the Balinese Room, and the decor modified accordingly. The pier was also expanded to its current 600-foot length. The Balinese Room's private back room was equipped with the most modern gaming equipment, and the Maceos' advertisements invited high rollers to "Come Down and Play on Galveston Island."

The club's illegal gambling made it a hub of mob activity. It was well-known that the casino, at the far end of the pier, was operating in violation of the law. But the Maceos had many allies in the local government and on the police force, so charges were never filed. The sheriff of Galveston County at the time, when called before the Texas Legislature to testify about why the club remained open, replied that he wasn’t a member of the private club so he couldn’t get in.

In 1956, Will Wilson was elected as Texas' attorney general after campaigning to "close down Galveston" and its illegal casinos using the Texas Rangers. The Rangers set up shop in a hotel near the club, and raided the casino often. But their efforts were thwarted by the length of the pier — by the time they ran down to the tail end of the long, narrow club, tables, cards and chips had disappeared into secret wall and floor pockets. The band often would strike up the song "The Eyes of Texas" upon their arrival.

The Rangers did eventually shut the club down, but not through heavy-handed tactics — they simply sat in the casino all day, every day. Customers, intimidated by the Rangers' presence, began to stop coming. As a result, business was so bad that the club eventually closed its doors on May 30, 1957. [1]

[edit] Present day

After sitting vacant for 20 years, the Balinese Room and its pier are now owned by the state of Texas. A local attorney, Scott Arnold, took out a 60-year lease on the pier, and as of 2001 had reopened the Balinese Room for business. In addition to the Balinese Room itself, which is used for live music, parties, and weekend public dining, the pier has a salon, retail shops and a massage therapy room with a glass floor. It is located at the intersection of 21st Street and Seawall Boulevard.

[edit] Cultural references

ZZ Top wrote a song about the Balinese Room: "Balinese," from the 1975 album Fandango!:

Deep in the South of Texas

not so long ago,

there on a crowded island

in the Gulf of Mexico.

It didn't take too much money,

man, but it sure was nice.

You could dance all night if you felt all right,

drinking whiskey and throwing dice.

And everybody knows

it was hard to leave.

And everybody knows

it was down at the Balinese.