August 23, 1908 - 106 years-ago today, the cornerstone is laid on the St Louis Coliseum. In todays terms, it would be called a Convention Center, & at the time it was built, it was the largest in the country. Sitting on the SW corner of Jefferson & Washington, the former site of Uhrigs Brewery, it sat atop Uhrigs Cave, which was a local attraction for decades. Seating 14,000, the Coliseum hosted all types of events including the 1916 Democratic National Convention, the last time we held the national convention of a major party. Enrico Caruso sang there, & Billy Sunday preached. A tennis match featuring Bill Tilden was held there, & an unknown swimmer named Johnny Weismueller was among Olympic athletes giving a demonstration. But just below it, Uhrigs Cave was no less historic. Ignatz Uhrig had a brewery at 18th & Market, near the present day Union Station. At the cost of $100,000 (in 1850s money), he had the cave lined with brick, & had a narrow-gauge railroad run through the cave to Jefferson & Washington, where he would eventually move his brewing operations. Opening a beer garden in 1876, it was also the first cave in the country to have electric lights. A summer theater was started, also the first of its kind in the country. Most of the top actors of the day appeared there, including Sarah Bernhardt. And as strange as it might sound, Uhrigs Cave hosted the American premiere of Gilbert & Sullivans H.M.S. Pinafore. After years of neglect, & the opening of other venues, the St. Louis Coliseum was torn down in 1953. The site later became the home of Jefferson Bank & Trust. Uhrigs Cave, as you would imagine, is still there, but now filled with water.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 05:07:56 +0000
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