On February 24th, 1954, the doors of the Astoria Ballroom opened for the first time to the sounds of Chick Smith and his Dance Orchestra.
Boasting a 3500 sq. ft Canadian Maple sprung dance floor (owned by Phil O'Connell), the Astoria Ballroom was one of the finest seaside
ballrooms in the country.
 It ran seven nights a week at the height of summer, and featured everyone who was anyone.
In the early 2000's it was renovated and contained a bar called Fast Freddie's, Bling, and a club called Pluto.
Sadly in 2008, the Astoria burned to the ground bringing to a close its proud 54 year history.
Photo one, below is from Joan O'Connell  and shows the Astoria in its heyday.
Photo 2 is the renovated Astoria in the early 2000's and we thank Johnny Gallagher (son of Sean) for the photos.
The final photo is from Google Earth in 2010.