The American Legion Hall early 1960s. Photo/South Lake Tahoe

Built in 1947, the American Legion Hall also served as a venue for teen dances from the 1950s into the late 1960s.

Jim Burgett’s popular band played at the Legion in 1965, though they spelled his name wrong. Photo/Bill Kingman

The back end of the building had a large auditorium, stage and dance floor, but that part of the roof collapsed under snow load just hours prior to a scheduled school dance on Feb. 28, 1969 — 47 years ago last week. No one was injured.

What the American Legion looks like in 2016. Photo/Bill Kingman

As evident today, the auditorium portion was not rebuilt. The old Enco and Signal gas stations seen distant in the black and white photo have become the Muffler Palace and American Gas, respectively. Today, a wooden plaque at right honors Marjorie Johnson Springmeyer whose family originally made the land available to American Legion Post 795.

My thanks to Carol Olivas of Post 795 Ladies Auxiliary for her information assistance.

— Bill Kingman