Fond memories of Lakeside’s Blue Moon Hotel

Sparkling chandeliers, weekly dances, the sprung dance floor, and the smell of freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery still linger in the memories of those who visited Lakeside’s Blue Moon Hotel in its heyday.

The hotel, which is often the topic of discussion on the Lakeside Past and Present Facebook page, was built in 1939 by George Kuhnert and boasted the first mirror ball in South Africa.

According to a 2004 Sunday Times article, from the Zandvlei Trust archives, the hotel opened on the eve of World War II and was the place to party in the 1950s and 1960s.

The “custard coloured” Art Deco building that boasted a neon-blue lit-up grinning moon on the side was the stomping ground for those from “rich and poor suburbs held together by the glue of fancy footwork, twirls and glides, the bob, the jitterbug, the waltz, and the quickstep”.

It was the time of LM Radio, hot dogs, V-8s, Chocolate Logs, strawberry milkshakes, and packets of 30 cigarettes.

It is said that the drink at the Blue Moon Hotel was brandy and Coke and the barman used to stack the glasses pre-filled with tots of brandy so they were always ready for the crowd.

The prevailing fashion was an Orlon cardigan done up at the back with lots of tiny pearl buttons.

Denim had only just appeared on the scene and blue jeans were not allowed in dance halls.

Local bands such as Dicksie Loader and the Blue Jeans played hits by stars like Buddy Holly and the Crickets and Bill Hayley and His Comets.

According to the article, it was a great time for fights and people knocked each other out on a regular basis.

According to the Cape Argus of October 16, 1964, police were often called to the Blue Moon Hotel to deal with disorderly juveniles. The crimes ranged from “drunkenness to riotous behaviour”.

The prevailing war was between the Ducktails, mostly from poorer areas, and the Larney Boys from Rondebosch and Newlands.

While not much history of this iconic hotel is recorded, a rock 'n' roll-inspired musical, Last Twist at the Blue Moon Hotel, was written by Duncan Hammond.

It screened at the Baxter Theatre in February 2004. Hammond grew up across the road from the hotel in the mid-1960s.

According to a document from the City of Cape Town, dated April 1, 1964, an application had been received for permission to demolish the hotel. It describes the hotel as being in ruinous condition, stripped of everything of value, and detrimental to the neighbourhood.

Marlene Pooley, 74, Mr Kuhnert’s granddaughter, said her mother, Flo, worked as a receptionist at the hotel and her father, also George, serviced the bar fridges on Sundays.

She recalls how her grandfather would switch on the jukebox for them on a Sunday while her father worked as they were not allowed in the bar area.

They would dance and sing and explore other parts of the hotel.

She recalls the large marble stairway that led up to the rooms and said her favourite place in the hotel was the dining room.

“It had life-sized animals painted on all the walls. I recall an elephant, lions, and a springbok. I loved going in there,” she said.

She also remembers the face of the moon on the side of the building lit up in blue light at night and recalls the smell of freshly baked bread from Atwells Bakery, now The Old Bakery shopping centre.

“You could smell the freshly baked bread from our house on a Sunday. We always bought two loaves of bread as we would eat one on our way home,” she said.

The Echo asked members of the Lakeside Past and Present group to share some of their memories of the Blue Moon Hotel.

Rob Moffat said it was his late father’s watering hole.

“He would pick me up on the odd occasion when I was very young to take me out and on arrival, he would buy me a Coke, put me in the lounge, and would then join his mates at the bar and then take me home. Bless him.”

Maureen Hendrikse said in the late 1950s it was their Friday night dance spot with four friends. She recalls the sprung dance floor, the jukebox and the “most gorgeous” chandelier.

Roy Phillips said he and his brother used to sell sandwiches to the pub patrons. The bread, he said, was still warm coming from the bakery and they had a choice of cheese and tomato or bully beef and mustard. The hotel allowed them to use their round Bakelite trays.

Robert Charles Nicholls said it must have been around 1964 that he and a group of friends took the train from Fish Hoek to Lakeside to spend the night at the Blue Moon Hotel.

“The resident band was called The Drifters and only did instrumentals. They were all similarly dressed and played mostly Shadows covers. The sprung dance floor was special and quite unique, I’d say.”

He said many years earlier, his uncle, Ivan Murison, used to teach ballroom dancing there.