Elbo Room — the bar that time forgot
The Elbo Room has long occupied a special place in Fort Lauderdale, both its physical location at the iconic corner where Las Olas Boulevard meets the ocean and in the collective heart and sometimes hazy memory of those who may have happily wasted some of their youth there.
Since its opening in 1938, through a 1956 rebuild, the Elbo Room has served as a dive-bar institution, a national Spring Break mecca, a clichéd punchline and a cultural touchstone, all of which will be celebrated on its 80th anniversary Friday-Sunday, Nov. 16-18, a weekend of music,
bikini contests and drink specials.
Events kick off Friday with a special appearance by Connie Francis, the pop singer and one of the stars of the 1960 big-screen Spring Break romantic comedy “Where the Boys Are,” which made Fort Lauderdale a symbol of youthful hedonism for college students across the country. Of course, part of the film was shot in the Elbo Room. Currently a Parkland resident, Francis, who turns 80 herself on Dec. 12, will sign autographs at the Elbo Room from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, visit ElboRoom.com.
Understandably, you may have forgotten more than you remember about the Elbo Room, but for grins, here’s a quick 80th Anniversary Elbo Room Trivia Quiz:
1. The Elbo Room’s bloodline can be traced to what other popular drinking establishment?
A. Mac’s Club Deuce, South Beach
B. The Crazy Horse Saloon, Paris
C. Nikki Beach, Ibiza, Spain
D. The Parrot Lounge, Fort Lauderdale
2. What happened during the first Spring Break after “Where the Boys Are” hit theaters in December 1960?
A. More than 5,000 college students flocked to Fort Lauderdale beach
B. Nearly 400 were arrested in two days as students massed outside the Elbo Room
C. Connie Francis’ song “Where the Boys Are” hit the Top 10 on the pop chart
D. Actor George Hamilton was approached about making a sequel titled “Where the Girls Are”
3. Which South Florida icon earned the nickname “the Father of Spring Break”?
A. George Hamilton
B. Elbo Room owner Jack Penrod
C. George Dalluge
D. “Crazy” Gregg Newell
4. The wooden bar in the Elbo Room, the original dating to 1938, spent most of its existence covered in what?
A. Coeds
B. Coral
C. Copper
D. Coors Light 5. Connie Francis was 22 when the title track from “Where the Boys Are” hit No. 4 on the pop chart. Who had more Top 40 hits before she turned 23?
Connie Francis or Boca Raton pop star Ariana Grande
6. The building that houses the Elbo Room was originally built for what purpose?
A. World War I military bunker
B. Al Capone gambling den
C. A snack shop called Kaufman’s
D. For a bar called the Elbo Room
7. If you were to dig through the floor of the Elbo Room, what would you find?
A. A bed of ancient coral B. Jimmy Hoffa
C. A basement
D. Pee-wee Herman’s bicycle
8) Who is George Dalluge?
A. Longtime Elbo Room bartender and “the Father of Spring Break”
B. Minnesota college student hanging from a lightpost over a rowdy crowd outside the Elbo Room in a picture published in Life magazine in 1961
C. Fort Lauderdale police chief who took a “get tough” approach with students in 1961
D. Lisa Hartman’s underappreciated co-star in the remake “Where the Boys Are ’84” Licensed & Insured: LIC #CGC061890