Northwest Dance & Music Venues

The Cave Supper Club (Page 2)
Vancouver, British Columbia

Cave Menu for Lena Horn Show

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The stalactites weren't the only thing that made The Cave different from all Vancouver's nightclubs.

It was its reputation as well. This was the place that Mitzi Gaynor made famous.  She'd try out her show at the Cave before taking it to Las Vegas.  Many established pop acts from Tony Bennett to Robert Goulet to Lena Horne soon followed, the wisdom being that if you could stir a Cave audience, you could excite anyone.

Then there were the stalactites.

Opening in 1937, the Cave Supper Club became the first venue in town to have a liquor license. A hit with dance bands and their audience, the Cave was distinguished by its decor, which featured artificial stalactites. They were tacky, sure, and were damaged and dirty by the time the club closed in 1981 but they did make the place seem exotic.

By 1981, the Cave seemed to be suffering from an identity crisis. One week it could present Bette Midler and a few days later a local punk band such as Pointed Sticks. One night it could be full, the next empty.

Yet it was that variety, or variability, that was part of The Cave's allure. There seemed to be nothing that didn't fit on its big stage and those who attended the Hornby club might remember seeing Gypsy Rose Lee or The Standells in their last days or The Temptations in need of medical help for one of its members; Then, there were the stalactites.

Larry Warcup, July 2013

Jayne Mansfield at the Cave - 1966
(Photo Courtesy of Larry Warcup)

Jim Reeves at the Cave - 1962
Courtesy of Susan Greig

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Souvenir Photo at the Cave, January 1955
Courtesy of Susan Greig

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Courtesy of Tracey McConnell

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