The story of the Commodore Ballroom starts back in 1930, where its doors first opened under the name Commodore Cabaret.
Throughout it’s 96 years in action, the Commodore has seen dozens of musical legends and historical milestones, though the history of the building itself may outweigh both of those things alone.
Despite where the building is now in terms of success and prosperity, it didn’t start out this way in the slightest. In fact, the opening of the Commodore Cabaret was on December 3rd, 1930. A year after the disastrous Wall Streat Crash of 1929, the start of the great depression. Because of this unfortunate timing the Cabaret closed its doors a mere 3 months later.
Luckily, the Cabaret found itself reopening sooner rather then later, returning in the very same year it was closed in. This new lease on life featured a Saturday night special, dinner and dancing, all for a single dollar as the admission fee.
In the present, inflation turns that single dollar into twenty, talk about crazy.
Following the Commodore Cabaret reopening in 1931, everything went smoothly for a number of years, as the business successfully relied on a stable rotation of house bands and featured acts alongside the occasional rental request from a third party.
Speaking of house bands, the Commodore hired and enlisted band after band, scoring contract after contract in quick succession, allowing smooth transitions in and out of the event schedule. At the time, big bands and piece heavy orchestras where the fan favourite, as such, the Commodore focused on bands fitting that bill.
In 1969 ownership was shaken up for the better as the Commodore Cabaret’s lease was bought by one Drew Burns. He found himself getting a liquor license for the business, alongside beginning renovations.
The biggest change that came with Burn’s ownership? The name. It was then that the Commodore Cabaret official because what it’s now known as: The Commodore Ballroom.
Under the ownership of Burns, the Commodore faced a major boost in popularity and notoriety. All genres were welcome on the Commodore’s stage, and it showed in the variety of musical legends who made the stage their own.
Burns is also known for managing to book and bring in artists who had never come to Vancouver before.
All and all, it’s safe to say Drew Burns is a key part of the Commodore Ballroom’s history and long-term success.
However, all good things must come to an end. In 1995, his lease expired, and in time the lease went up for sale. Due to unsuccessful attempts at selling the property, it was forced to close its doors again in 1996.
Fortunately, the Commodore Ballroom reopened in 1999, and has since remained an important and well respected multi purpose venue for everyone to enjoy, hosting a rough estimate of 120,000 guests annually.