Historic Sweet's Ballroom was built by wealthy Oakland residents, Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Hassler for an investment; it was begun in September of 1923 and finished in March of 1924 at a cost of $80,000.

Between 1924 and 1932 it was run by William Sweet, who had been a professor of Agriculture at UC-Berkeley. He gave up his professorship to open the first Sweet's Ballroom in Oakland; there would be a total of four Sweet's Ballroom sites.

This particular site was the second of the four sites that Sweet would have during his 46 year long tenure with ballroom dancing in Oakland.

This venue was in use as a ballroom for 55 years:
From 1924-1933 it was "Sweet's."
From 1933-1943 it was "McFadden's."
From 1943-1953 it was "Linn's."
From 1954-1979 it was "Sands."

Historic Sweet's Ballroom is the only ballroom of the four Sweet's ballrooms that still exists. During the Big Band Era one or more of these four ballrooms echoed to the music of the likes of Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Harry James and a host of others.
Between 1980 and 1997 it remained dormant until February 1998 when it was purchased by Friends of Creation Spirituality, Inc. FCS President and Episcopalian Priest Matthew Fox borrowed $50,000 on his house for the down payment, and the historic property was saved from being torn down to be build administrative offices.
In 2001 Friends of Creation Spirituality, Inc. formed a for-profit corporation named Historic Sweet's Ballroom, Inc. to serve as the property management corporation for the ballroom.
In 2002 Friends of Creation Spirituality, Inc. sold the ballroom property to Uptown Broadway Partners and leased the ballroom back for 35 years. Due to this sale, some money became available for the renovation that enables the ballroom to be open 7 days a week; other money had to be borrowed. With the completion of the renovation, the vision of resurrecting this "great old dame", an historically rich site that will attract many shows and participants and thus bringing much needed life and activity to Uptown Oakland afterhours, has been fulfilled with our ongoing effort to contribute to the revitalization of Oakland.