Legacy of Galveston's Balinese Room lives on

Gone, but perhaps not forever.

One of the more colorful chapters in Galveston's history ended during Hurricane Ike in 2008, when the Balinese Room was destroyed.

Swept off the piers where it had been built in the 1930s, the nightclub was a local legend, hosting such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Duke Ellington and Jayne Mansfield for drinks, entertainment and illegal gambling.

The club's original owners, Sam and Rosario Maceo, first opened the business as a restaurant, then a nightclub. In 1932, they built a 200-foot pier and moved their backroom gambling operations to the pier's end. Eventually, the Balinese Room's pier was 600 feet long, with deluxe gaming options that attracted the famous and other high rollers.

Most people knew the business was operating illegally but turned a blind and tolerant eye — until the 1950s, when law enforcement began repeatedly raiding the club.

The Balinese Room closed in the late 1950s and remained that way until 2001, when local attorney Scott Arnold reopened the business, featuring live music, parties and weekend dining — but no gambling.

Arnold expanded and restored the business until it offered several performance venues, a dance club, museum and gift shop in addition to restaurant facilities. All was destroyed in 2008.

But Arnold hasn't given up on the Balinese Room. In an open letter at balineseroom.net, he wrote that he retains the right to rebuild the Balinese Room, either on Galveston's seawall or in another location.

— Stacey Kratz