Hai Alai/Jai Alai in Frenchtown
Posted: January 19th, 2011 | 2 Comments »So in the last couple of week a couple of people emailed me to say I’d made a mistake in my Old Shanghai A-Z – it’s not “Hai-Alai” they say but “Jai-Alai”. And it’s true, it usually is spelt Jai-Alai, but not in old Shanghai. Herewith, in support of my case, two pieces of evidence are submitted – m’lud first, a paragraph from the wonderful 1930s guide to the city – Shanghai: High Lights, Low Lights, Tael Lights and then the old logo of the Hai-Alai Auditorium over in Frenchtown by the Canidrome.
“Hai Alai, which takes place continuously out in a splendid new auditorium in Frenchtown is interesting, has many followers and is as good a way to lose your shirt as we know of. You can lay a bet here just as easily as you could get converted at the Methodist Mission. Hai Alai is an old Basque game, and tho town is filled with Basquards who have been imported to lend the local game an authentic touch.”
…nough said
I was four in 1936. My father took me to Hai-Alai (Jai-Alai) Auditorium for the first time, and I saw Basques throwing ball at a tall wall with long baskets attached to their wrists. It was on the southeast side of the Avenue Joffre and Rue Roi Albert (southern extension of Seymour Road). After 1949 the building became a basketball hall, then a gymnasium.
Thank you very much – I’ll get over there as soon as I can and see if the gymnasium is still there – if it is I’ll report back!