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The $2 million Aragon Ballroom was built by brothers Andrew and William Karzas. It opened in mid-July 1926 with the crowning of the Elks Crown Queen for the Chicago lodge of the Fraternal Order of Elks, which that year was Miss Jaen Marre. The audience in attendance was said to be 10,000 and the ballroom was described as having “all the appointments of a movie palace except the seats”.
Architects Huszagh & Hill designed the Aragon’s stucco exterior in Spanish Baroque style while movie palace architect John Eberson decorated the interior to resemble the courtyard of a Moorish castle.
On 14th August 2019, Live Nation unveiled that Byline Bank would be the new name-in-title sponsor of the Aragon Ballroom, and the venue was renamed the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom.
Eberson designed the grand ballroom to resemble a courtyard of a Moorish castle approaching the architecture of the northeastern autonomous area of Spain known as Aragon.
Photos of the Byline Bank Aragon BallroomPhoto credits are noted where data was available at the time of inclusion. Photos displayed here may be subject to copyright; refer to our Copyright Fair Use Statement regarding our use of copyrighted media and contact us with any concerns.
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Text copyright © 2017-2025 Mike Hume / Historic Theatre Photos.
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