Ruthie Kalbfleisch
Corpus Christi History Project
The Memorial Coliseum
The city of Corpus Christi has a unique and timeless past that many people, mostly its own citizens, often overlook. A famous landmark that was ultimately overlooked was the Memorial Coliseum downtown. The Coliseum's significance to Corpus was the only house for all forms of entertainment for the entire city. If a young teenager wanted to see their favorite musical icon, the Coliseum is where they would turn to. If a senior in high school or college was graduating, you would find them in one of the endless rows of steel chairs within the Coliseum receiving their hard-earned diploma. Or if a family wanted to attend the circus for a fun family outing they would stand amazed as acrobats performed jaw-dropping stunts within its four cement walls. I can see on a local scale how the continuation of time brings a better economy, higher wages, more time devoted to leisure, and heights in social trends that give the great significance of the Memorial Coliseum to the citizens of Corpus Christi. But what really gives the Coliseum the most of its great importance to Corpus Christian society is the memories that were made under the famous curved green roof that made citizens of this city so emotionally attached. The Coliseum didn’t just provide people of this city a product or a service, but memories of important times in their lives that the older generations of this city never want to forget.