Plans for Lorain Arena Take Shape – Dec. 1953

When the Coliseum on Route 6 west of Lorain burned down on the morning of May 5, 1952, the city lost both its largest roller rink and a popular dance spot. Fortunately, a pair of successful Lorain businessmen wasted little time in taking action to fill the need.

And seventy-one years ago this month, Robert Baetz, owner of Baetz Dairy and William Bauer, owner of the Park Restaurant, released the photo above of what the inside of their proposed Lorain Arena would look like. As the caption for the photo from the December 29, 1953 Lorain Journal explains, the building would be a combination auditorium, roller rink and sports arena. "The hangar type frame structure, 120 feet wide, 200 feet long, and 28 feet at its peak, will be located at the rear of the Baetz Dairy Bar, Stop 107, West Lake Road," noted the caption.

The Baetz Dairy Bar had been there since June 1949. Here's the Grand Opening ad.

An architectural rendering of the new Lorain Arena, then under construction, appeared in the Lorain Journal on November 18, 1954.

And the Lorain Arena officially opened on April 2, 1955.

I've had many posts about the Lorain Arena; some featuring the many popular musical acts that appeared there (such as Skeeter Bonn, B. B. King, and Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars); wrestling acts; auto shows; its name change to Big Moose Showcase; and its eventual closing.

I also did a four-part series (starting here) on the history of the Arena back in June 2010. Part 4 included my serendipitous look inside of the former Arena courtesy of realtor Bill Latrany, who was the listing agent for the property, which was for sale at that time.