The historic Hub Ballroom, which hosted many jazz acts in the past, was destroyed by fire last week.

The entire venue, located in Edelstein, Illinois, was burned to the ground and when firefighters got to the scene a third of it was engulfed in flames.

With a lot of wood in the building it was a matter of containing the fire rather than saving the building.

The Hub was built in 1938 by Bert Potter of Potter Implement Co. and was originally meant to be a display for farm equipment.

But after an opening-day dance was arranged to show off the building drew a big crowd and Potter decided instead to make it into a dance hall.

It would then go on to become a venue of considerable note, hosting performers such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Jerry Lee Lewis and Glenn Miller.

Virginia Pierson, the daughter of original owner, said that the appeal of the venue reached far and wide:

“They came from all over a 100-mile radius. Girls came, boys came, we danced together, it was just a wonderful place to have”.

Craig Potter, grandson of the Hub Ballroom’s creator, says that the loss will be a big one for the town of Edelstein, but also for the thousands upon thousands who danced the wooden floors of the venue in its prime.

“That’s sad. It was a hell of a place. It really was.”

Hofmann said the building was insured, but he was unable to give an estimate of monetary damage. Other than a few steel beams and bricks left standing, the site was basically smoldering remains.

Looking into the rubble, Hofmann said:

“It brought tears to my eyes. We had the full intention of bringing this thing back to its glory, and then this happens.”

Earlene Hanlon, who owned The Hub with her husband, Ray, from 1975 to 2001, said people would come from out of state to attend the ballroom dancing events.

“It was all wooden and very old. I knew if anything ever started, the whole thing would go and it would go fast. It’s just one of those things. Now we just have our memories and have to go on from there.”

Investigators from the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office will be looking to eastablish a cause for the fire in the next week or two.

You can see more photos of the venue at the Hub’s MySpace page: www.myspace.com/thehubballroom