St. Louis Coliseum

St. Louis, Missouri was without a convention center for 3 years following the 1904 World’s Fair. A group of businessmen led by Attorney Guy Golterman assembled $450,000 private, and built the Coliseum at Washington and Jefferson. It was designed by Frederick C. Bonsack, And occupied a full block. When the cornerstone was laid on August 22, 1908, it was claimed the building would be the largest public building in the United States.[1] It replaced the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall as the city's main convention and big entertainment center. Golterman was the Secretary to the Company and first manager of the Coliseum. Colonel Pickering managed it for a period of time.

The building accommodated the 1916 Democratic nominating convention, wrestling and boxing matches, trade shows, and musical extravaganzas. Enrico Caruso performed in the Coliseum twice-first with the Metropolitan Opera Co. In April 1910, and again in May 1919, giving a Concert for Liberty Loans. Lack of parking, the emergence of neighborhood swimming pools, and

Kiel Auditorium which opened in 1934 effectively ‘did it in. It was closed in 1939 , and it was condemned as unsafe by the city in 1953.

References

  1. ↑ Lay Conerstone of St. Louis Coliseum - New York Times - August 23, 1908

Coordinates: 38°38′06″N 90°12′50″W / 38.634937°N 90.213847°W / 38.634937; -90.213847

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.