The once and forever Memorial Auditorium (Rose Baca/Staff photographer)
My first concert was August 22, 1973: the Jackson 5 at Memorial Auditorium in downtown Dallas. I was two months shy of turning 5 and can now summon only a few faded echoes — walking through Pioneer Park Cemetery holding my father’s giant hand, being spooked by the headstones and overwhelmed by the crowd, sitting on the floor and standing on my seat. A painted reproduction of that concert poster hangs in my hallway.
My dad checked himself out of Presbyterian Hospital to take me to the show. He had a surgery scheduled the next morning. To this day, he says I owe him one.
Once or twice a week, schlepping between the newspaper and Dallas City Hall, I still walk past Memorial, rechristened the Convention Center Arena in the late ’70s. The 59-year-old building, built and owned by the city, never fails to impress — the sleek spaceship design and the fact it’s played host to the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin (six times between 1970 and ’77), Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello (twice), Prince (in 1981, then 2000) and countless other comers before they were legends.
James Brown cut one of the greatest-ever in-concert keepsakes there in 1968; eight years earlier, John Kennedy made a campaign stop. And it was, for a groovy and glorious moment, the home of the American Basketball Association’s Dallas Chaparrals.
The Beatles at Memorial Auditorium on Sept. 18, 1964. No one could hear a thing. (Associated Press)
But it’s tucked away behind the convention center like an afterthought. That’s what I figured it was until Ron King, the man in charge of it, said it’s still used about 100 days out of the year, mostly for private events or cheerleading or gymnastics competitions, high school graduations or the odd Trinity River toll road meeting.
King met me at Memorial last week to explain why it hasn’t been born again as a viable concert venue taking advantage of a resurgent downtown where people actually live, stay and play after knocking off work. It still has its charms — and, now, proximity to bars, restaurants, hotels, life. Sure beats a drive to Grand Prairie. Far smarter people than I agree. … [visit site to read more]
Reposted via Dallas City Hall News
No comments:
Post a Comment