Previous Names:

Aragon Ballroom (Changed after 2014)

Aragon Entertainment Center (Changed after 2019)

Seating Capacity: 5000

Venue Type : Bar/Club

Longest Performance:
03.17.95 - Seek Up (13:25)

Media Gallery

The Aragon was built in 1926 by two brothers, William and Andrew Karzas for two million dollars. The Aragon, named after a providence in Spain, was the crowing jewel in a cluster of lucrative properties owned by the Karzas. It was designed to replicate a Spanish palace courtyard with its crystal chandeliers, mosaic tiles, garishly painted plaster, terra-cotta ceiling and beautiful arches. The shiny bent wood floor was created for dancing and rests on a cushion of cork, felt and springs. It appears to be a palace of illusions, where artificial stars twinkle overhead and projectors beam clouds scudding across the domed roof some 60 feet above the dance floor. Even the "wooden" beams located throughout the venue are make-believe (simulated from concrete). On opening night, July 14, 1926, Mayor William Hale Thompson bought the first ticket and more than 8,000 people jammed the Aragon that evening.