Coliseum Ballroom Of Benld To Be Remembered With A Dance This February

As reported by the State Journal-Register, the dance event will happen at the Gillespie Civic Center, 115 N. Macoupin St., Gillespie from 7 to 11 p.m. The dance is expected to bring people back in the great days of Bendl's Coliseum Ballroom with retro beats and fashion. It will be a one-night event where the men and women go back to wearing bell-bottomed pants and poodle skirts.

Among those who will be playing at the Coliseum Revisited Dance, this February is the original members of The Guild. Also, the popular Lang and McClain duo of Rich Lang and Gary McClain, as well as the Owlz Band, are expected in the event.

The 10,000 square-foot Coliseum Ballroom of Benld was destroyed in a fire back in 2011, following the performance of the band Shadow of Doubt, St. Louis Public Radio reported. Nevertheless, many people would not forget how the place became the town's source of entertainment for several years.

Lynn Shehorn was among the organizers of a similar dance held a year ago. She noted that many people would like to experience the good old days of the Coliseum Ballroom once again. In this case, they have decided to do another dance for this year.

"Last year was our first attempt at this, and we thought we'd get about 400 people. We got about 550, so we decided the area wanted this to reminisce about our old times at the Coliseum Ballroom," said Shehorn.

The first notable performance of the Coliseum Ballroom was from Frank Westphal and his orchestra on Dec. 24, 1924. The ballroom started to breathe life into music and dance since then, with themes ranging from jazz to big band. Popular names such as Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, and Lawrence Welk had also become a part of the dance hall's history.