Rainbow Gardens Dancehall

Status: Closed

Parish: Evangeline

Location: Ville Platte

From “Images of America: Ville Platte”, Arcadia Publishing, 2014 by Jean Keisel and Jane Vidrine: “The Rainbow Gardens dancehall stood across the street from the courthouse. It was also known as the fais-do-do. The entrance fee was 25 cents when Octave Fuselier was the proprietor. Only soft drinks were available in the dancehall. Someone who wanted an alcoholic beverage had to leave the dance and go to the saloon, conveniently located in another part of the building…Octave Fuselier owned the Courthouse Saloon and Restaurant, the Rainbow Gardens dancehall, a barbershop, and the Exchange Marketacross the street from the courthouse. The esablishment was open 24 hours a day. In the back room there were card games and slot machines, while a legal “bull pen” met inside the front door of the Rainbow Gardens.” From prairiedesfemmes.blogspot.com: “There used to be a big dance hall across from the Evangeline Parish courthouse in Ville Platte that people called the “Fais-Do-Do” but it was actually called the Rainbow Garden, or more commonly, “Le Hall ˆ ‘Tave” because it was owned by Mr. Octave Fuselier.”

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Photo Credit: Ville Platte Gazette, Lynn Landreneau