During the construction period two changes occurred on the Board of Trustees. Ramon S. Perry’s term expired, and Chester V. Kimmel, the chairman, resigned to go to India under the Point Four Program. James R. Fleming, who had served on the board since its beginning, was elected chairman. Ellison L. Meier and Elmer Kolmerten were appointed to fill the vacancies.
The War Memorial Coliseum was completed in September, 1952. Nearly eight years had elapsed since the Junior Chamber of Commerce had conceived the idea of erecting a suitable memorial to the war dead of Allen County. The men who had worked unremittingly through those years were amply rewarded when the building was opened by impressive dedicatory services.
The dedication program was preceded by a parade in which bands from all the city and county high schools and representatives from twenty-four county veterans organizations participated. The Great Lakes Naval Training Center Band opened the ceremony. The Aeolian Choir of the General Electric Company sang “America, the Beautiful” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Lewis K. Gough, the National Commander of the American Legion, delivered the principal address and said in part: “This is the hallowed hall of heroes ... this Memorial Coliseum, a living memorial to our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our fathers and our dear friends who served their God and their country with the last full measure of devotion.”
The Coliseum is a remarkable structure. Mr. Strauss has stated that a great many architectural problems had to be solved in planning the edifice. The necessarily massive size and isolated location might have resulted in an ill-proportioned and bulky building. Fortunately, the judicious adaptation of a contemporary modern style by the architects has achieved a dignified building that is both functional and beautiful. By placing the ramps between the levels on the exterior, Mr. Strauss succeeded in overcoming bulky appearance. The ramps modify a bluff façade of high vertical walls and soften the relationship between the bulk of the mass and the adjacent ground area.
The exterior of the octagonal building is brick and Indiana limestone. The bricks are in three different hues to provide variation in the broad expanse of the walls. Ten rigid steel frames support the roof. Each frame weighs 70 tons and has a clear span of 239 feet—a longer span than any other single-welded rigid framework ever erected in the United States. The dimensions of the Coliseum are impressive: 425 feet in length, 300 feet in width, and 87 feet in height from the floor of the main arena.
One problem in the construction of a great building arises from discrepancies in the rates of expansion and contraction of various materials used. In the Coliseum the concrete seating construction is attached to the steel frame of the building by a device operating on the principle of a hinge. It is so designed that when the steel and concrete expand at different coefficients, the hinge moves to adjust to the disparity. Careful consideration has been given to facilitating the ingress and egress of spectators. The upper main seating area is served by sixteen vomitory entrances, and the lower arena by four. The multiple entrances make it possible to empty the building very rapidly after each performance and are an important safety factor in case of emergency.
one of the ten rigid steel frames which support the building.
As the president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce had promised in the earliest plans for the Coliseum, the memorial to the war dead is the focal point of the building. The main entrance on the north leads directly to the Memorial Hall. Five cast aluminum heads have been placed on the exterior of the building above the windows of the hall. These heads symbolize the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force. The interior of the august hall measures seventy-five feet in length and thirty feet in width. Four kinds of marble are used in the decoration: French Notre Dame for the background, English Renfrew for the inserts, Italian Red Levanto for the platform, and Spanish Bois Jourdan for the door panels. Two bronze plaques, one at either end of the hall, list the casualties of Allen County beneath the following inscription: “This Coliseum is dedicated as a living memorial in honor of these men and women who gave their lives in World Wars I and II of the nation so that we might live.”