"The day the music died": Iowa ballroom where rockers last performed gets NHL status

The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson gave their last performances before the "day the music died," has joined the nation's official list of some of its most significant historical sites.

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced Friday that the U.S. Department of the Interior had designated the Surf as a National Historic Landmark, making it part of an elite group of about 2,600 properties nationally.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2021/01/22/surf-ballroom-named-national-historic-landmark-holly-valens-big-bopper-clear-lake/6678022002/