Celebrating America's Good-Time Music
The country's happiest music has a home of its own. The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum pays tribute to the music that sets America's toes a-tapping.
The Cleveland-Style polka was the music that welcomed GIs back from World War II. Americans wanted a happy sound to bounce their troubles away and the Cleveland-style polka set the tempo. It's still popular today and performed across the country wherever good people want good-time music.
From a lively accordion beat to the elegant spin of a ballroom waltz; the throb of a button-bax bass to the Alpine oom-pah hop, the Cleveland style fits every dancer's mood. And the Polka Hall of Fame brings it all together in images and soiund.
Interactive music exhibits, vintage photographs and original instruments trace the story of the Cleveland-Style Polka. The Polka Hall of Fame gallery profiles the people who made the music -- as voted by membes in the United States, Canada and Europe. This is where Frank Yankovic reigns forever as America's Polka King, along with past and present polka personalities.
Around 1900, a new dance sound emerged from Cleveland's Slovenian neighborhoods. Old-country accordionists and musicians updated old-country melodies with expressions from jazz, ragtime, country music and Tin Pan Alley. The new style caught on. Recordings and radio brought it into every home. In the 1940s, Top-Ten polka and waltz hits got the nation on the dancefloor. Nationwide about 200 bands still perform polkas and waltzes in the Cleveland Style.
Visit the Polka Hall of Fame at its historic site, the former City Hall of Euclid, east of Cleveland, the buckle of the Polka Belt. Admission is free. Become a member and vote for your polka favorites. Attend the gala Awards Show each November. Relive happy times and enjoy happy music at the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum.
Free admission. Free adjacent parking.
Easily reached from Interstate 90. From east and west, exit north on East 222nd Street.
The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of polka music, the happiest sound around.
The Polka Hall of Fame Gift Shop has the country's greatest selection of new and vintage polka and waltz recordings and hard-to-find polka-themed apparel, souvenirs and music books. Check the on-line catalog for CDs. You can also get tickets for major polka and nationality events and the annual Polka Hall of Fame Awards Show.
Join today and enjoy the benefits. Youreceive Gift Shop discounts, the Quaterly newsletter, advance notice of polka events, and voting privileges for annual awards.
