WIGMORE COLISEUM - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The WIGMORE COLISEUM was an exhibition hall of the 1910s and 1920s, a forerunner of the PUBLIC AUDITORIUM. Located at 1825-1911 East 13th St. between Euclid and Chester avenues, it was designed by Knox & Elliot and planned to be a 4-story garage. Instead, only 2 stories were built and it was used as both an exhibition hall and a public garage. It was built for the James A. Wigmore Co., a real estate firm. The Cleveland Electrical Exposition, demonstrating the uses of electricity, was held there in 1914. The Cleveland Auto Show, 1915, occurred at a time when Cleveland was a leader in the auto manufacturing industry. In 1919 Cleveland's first Flower Show (later Home & Flower Show) was held at the Wigmore Coliseum.

Apparently competition with Public Auditorium, opened 1922, led to the Wigmore no longer being used as an exhibition hall. In 1923 3 additional stories were added to the building in a matching style by the same architects for the same owner. The terracotta facade was Sullivanesque in style. Floors 1 to 3 were public parking, while 4 and 5 had a bowling alley and billiards rooms. The building's name became the Euclid-13th Recreation Bldg. In 1944 much of the building was converted into U.S. government office space, a use that lasted through the 1960s. Since the early 1980s the building has housed offices, health and exercise facilities, and parking.

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