Founded in 1921 by John Verderbar, an industrious
Austrian immigrant. Verderbar purchased along wooded Archer Ave. He planned to build a peaceful weekend home. His son, Rudy Verderbar, was one of the throngs of young people who danced at the nearly 400 ballrooms and dance halls that thrived in the Chicago area during the mid-to-late 1910s. After dancing in an outdoor pavilion in
Michigan, Rudy waged a relentless campaign to scrap the idea of a summer home and build an outdoor dance pavilion. After some research, his father agreed, and in 1921, the all wooden
Oh Henry Park was built. It proved so popular, in 1923, the open-air pavilion was enlarged and a new 10-cents-a-dance policy was implemented. The ballroom was supposedly named after the
Oh Henry candy bar, manufactured in Chicago by the
Williamson Candy Company, who paid Verderbar for the naming rights. As Big Band fever spread throughout 1940s America, the Oh Henry Ballroom, now with air conditioning, became a major force in the Midwest’s entertainment industry. Even during the
Second World War, typical weekly attendance was about 10,000 dancers. The ballroom’s popularity was reason for Chicago bus lines to be rerouted to provide direct service to and from the ballroom. Willowbrook Ballroom attracted some of the most popular bands of their times including
Ozzie Nelson and his orchestra in the 1930s with lead singer
Harriet Hilliard. The 1940s orchestras of
Harry James,
Les Brown and
Count Basie played the ballroom, and singers
Frank Sinatra,
Doris Day And
Helen O'Connell graced the stage, later so did
Wayne King,
Guy Lombardo,
Sammy Kaye,
Jimmy Dorsey,
Bob Crosby,
Dick Jurgens,
Glenn Miller Orchestra and
Gene Krupa. Theatre organist
Hal Pearl known as "The King of the Organ" occasionally played in the ballroom between sets and sometimes offered his own concerts. In 1955, as ballrooms across the country scaled down or closed, the Verderbars set out on a course to further expand their operations. A addition installed new kitchens, a restaurant and a private room for parties and banquets. In 1959 the entire Oh Henry complex was renamed Willowbrook Ballroom. The 1960s were bringing record crowds to the ballroom, but toward the end of that decade, the public’s taste in entertainment underwent a radical change and fewer people took up
ballroom dancing. Willowbrook Ballroom survived by having contemporary bands share the stage on the same evening with the top ballroom bands. As popular music changed, the entertainers on Willowbrook’s stage also changed, particularly on Friday night.
Chubby Checker played the ballroom as did
The Cryan' Shames,
The Association,
The Buckinghams,
Otis Day and the Knights,
Duke Tumatoe and The All Star Frogs,
The Village People, and
Martha Reeves. Songwriter
James Holvay first saw
Carl Bonafede at the age of 14 when Carl was singing at The Willowbrook Ballroom as a front man for the Gem-Tones. It was one of Jim Lounsbury's local record hops. In the 1980's, the Sunday afternoon Tea Dance was "billed as an over-40 dance" said a fox-trotting patron interviewed by Ron Grossman for the
Chicago Tribune. "But over 60 more accurately describes most of us." Many were divorced or widowed senior citizens. In 2000 The Willowbrook Ballroom was profiled as one of America's "Glorious, Historic, Legendary, Treasured Ballroom Dance Floors" in Amateur Dancers magazine. Criteria for being profiled as an Amateur Dancers magazine's "Finest Floor" is: • A minimum of of danceable wood flooring, sprung preferred. • Sufficient room for 300 or more dancers. • Adequate sound and heating/cooling system. • Currently operating with a 25-year history or more. On October 28, 2016 the Willowbrook Ballroom was again destroyed by a massive, multi-alarm fire. As of early Spring 2017 the Dance of Life Foundation—a Burr Ridge-based nonprofit organization—claims to have raised nearly $2 million to rebuild the historic ballroom. On Feb. 25, 2019 Crain's Chicago Business reported that suburban construction firm Westpoint Builders had purchased, on Feb. 13, 2019, half of the Willowbrook Ballroom site for 1.25 million dollars. When finished, the new construction on the site is said to include 168 condominiums and 42 townhomes. As of Oct. 28, 2021 there has been no announcement about the sale of the other half of the property, and the property as a whole is now apartments as of June 25, 2023. ==Notes==