By ELVA RAMIREZ and JANE H. FURSE
It was the birthplace of the Lindy Hop, where Benny Goodman was crowned King of Swing, and though it closed in 1958, the Savoy Ballroom still fuels happy memories - and happy feet.

Last night more than 400 people jitterbugged and Lindy-hopped the night away to the music of Ron Allen's Harlem Renaissance Orchestra, a black-tie evening at the Alhambra Ballroom that capped a weekend celebration of the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Savoy.

Frankie Manning, 91, who still teaches dance, recalled the night in 1938 when orchestra leaders Benny Goodman and Chick Webb "came out swinging" for the 5,000 people inside - "and another 5,000 trying to get in."

Dancer Norma Miller, 86, who now lives in Fort Myers, Fla., said Goodman and Webb's battle of the bands "became the biggest night in the world, and at the end, Benny Goodman became King of Swing."

But that was just one of many big nights at the block-long ballroom at Lenox Ave. off 140th St. On any given evening, thousands danced to the jazz-fueled tempo of Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

By the end of its 32-year reign, more than 25 million people, including movie stars, mobsters, musicians and dancers of every color and creed, had passed through the place Lana Turner dubbed "the home of the happy feet."

And almost 50 years after it was torn down for a housing project, its legend and legacy remain alive and well.

"It went from one evening with about 20 people to an entire weekend" with more than 1,000 people, said Elliot Donnelly, a San Francisco choreographer who organized the 80th anniversary weekend with choreographer Chad Fasca and dance historian Terry Monaghan.

Manning, meanwhile, credits the survival of dances like the Lindy Hop with his own durability.

"If I wasn't dancing I probably wouldn't be here right now," he said. "Dancing is my mistress."