Balboa Pavilion, Victorian pavilion in Newport Beach, United States.

Balboa Pavilion is a Victorian building along Newport Harbor featuring sloped rooflines and a decorative cupola at the peak. The structure houses a large event space on the upper level and restaurants and commercial spaces below.

The War Department granted the Newport Bay Investment Company permission on September 20, 1905, to build a boat-house, bath-house and pavilion. The 65-foot Victorian structure by architect Fred R. Dorn was completed on July 1, 1906, timed to the Pacific Electric Red Car extension that reached Balboa days later. The Gronsky family bought the sagging building in 1947 or 1948 and replaced its wooden pilings with concrete.

The building's name comes from Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. In the 1930s the upstairs ballroom hosted Count Basie, Benny Goodman and the Dorsey Brothers, while Phil Harris played weekdays. The Balboa swing dance, named after the spot, spread from here across the United States.

The building sits right on the waterfront and is easy to explore on foot, with access to different areas on both levels. From here you can book boat and fishing tours or simply walk around the harbor area.

The Balboa dance, which began at the Pavilion in the 1930s, is named after this building and the peninsula. Weekend crowds once came to hear Count Basie, Benny Goodman and the Dorsey Brothers play here.