CastleRock took place in the cavernous Dorney Park dance-hall, Castle Garden. The "Garden" was built in the early 20's and hosted all the famous big bands of that era. By the late fifties it was called CastleRock. The Philadelphia recording stars, such as Frankie Avalon and Freddy Cannon would routinely perform. By my teenage era, in the early mid 60's, it was mostly disc jockeys. The Park was free, no admission. Pay to park, and maybe a buck or so for the dance-hall.
By then the nightclub tables shown in the photograph were gone, and sitting was around the sides. There were no shootings, and rowdiness was restricted to sneaking on a ride without buying a ticket. The dance-hall overlooked the lake, it was destroyed by a fire on Thanksgiving in 1985.
Above Reprinted from Sept. 10, 2008
ADDENDUM JUNE 15, 2023: In 2008, when I wrote that there were no shootings at the dance hall, little did I know that in 2023 there would multiple homicides before June ends. Forget a hormone filled dance club, shootings now occur even on playgrounds. Rather than beefing up our police force, we look to social workers and mentor organizations to reduce the violence? I would feel much safer if our police departments received the funding, rather than organizations that promise to make a difference.
Though I arrived in Allentown in the early 70s, I have heard great stories about the pop stars at Castle Gardens, often hosted by WAEB DJs like the great Jay Sands.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised that the social workers who promise ,help and such haven't been attacked.or shoot at this point.It happens here in Pittsburgh quite often often.
ReplyDeleteSpent many Saturday night dancing at the Garden during the 1950’s.
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