In the days before television turned us into a nation of part-time couch potatoes, going out dancing was a hugely popular pastime, and large ballrooms dotted cityscapes across the country. In Los Angeles of the 1920s and 30s, one of the larger and more popular venues was the El Patio Ballroom, which opened in 1925 on Vermont and took up a whole block. It later changed its name to the Rainbow Gardens and was where Benny Goodman got his big break. Imagine being able to dance to Goodman’s orchestra for 40 cents (for ladies and 65 cents for men.) It would change its name once more to The Paloma burning down on Oct. 2, 1939.