Buddy Holly played the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis on April 15, 1958. Less than a year later, he, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens would be crisscrossing the Upper Midwest in the dead of winter, hitting small ballrooms such as the Surf Ballroom in the small town of Clear Lake on the shore of a glacial lake of the same name in northern Iowa.

Feeding off the interest in the South Pacific in the years after World War II and surfer culture, the Surf Ballroom was decked out in Streamline awesomeness and palmtrees.

Every detail is preserved down to the smell of saturated cigarette smoke permeating the air.

This is the stage where the three famous musicians played their last show before dying tragically in the plane crash only hours later.

In addition to the large dance floor, where my own grandparents once danced back in the 1940s, there are several tiers of seats, each have their own juke box controls (is that what they’re called?).

There are a series of murals along the walls depicting the South Pacific.

The bar has a series of displays showcasing the famous musicians who have played the venue over the years, and the list is long.

Of course there’s a display for the three who played here on that snowy night in 1959…

But St. Louis’s own critical pioneers of rock n’ roll played here, as well.

The town of Clear Lake is interesting, as well, perhaps most so as a study in severe gentrification of what had long been a sleepy resort community along a broad and fairly large lake.

Houses have long blocked the view, but now luxury townhouses are replacing the old Nineteenth Century homes.

The marina in downtown does still give an unrestricted view.

And further from the shore there are some stunning houses that have been carefully rehabbed. It’s an interesting town, and very nice to visit.