In October 1939, it looked as if Robinson Auditorium would never open. The construction had run out of money. But in an effort to generate a little revenue and give the public the chance to see the building, a few events were booked in the lower level.
At the time, the entrance to the lower level was off of Garland Street which ran to the north of the structure.
While Mayor J. V. Satterfield and other leaders were in Washington seeking additional funding, the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium hosted its first event. On October 4, 1939, the convention hall on the lower level was the site of a preview dance. The pecan block flooring had been installed just the week before.
The first four people to enter the building as paying guests were Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wilheim, Frances Frazier and Bill Christian. Reports estimated 3,200 people attended and danced to the music of Jan Garber and His Orchestra.
By happenstance, Garber and his musicians had also played in Little Rock on January 26, 1937, the date of the election which approved the auditorium bonds. Since Little Rock then did not have a suitable space, that appearance had been on the stage of the high school auditorium.
The dance was a success. But as the building had no heating or cooling mechanism at the time, there were limits as to how long even the lower level could be in use. After a few weeks, the PWA, which was still in charge of the construction site, halted all future bookings.
After 60 years, the most dramatic images of the 1957 crisis at Little Rock Central High School remain those of 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford, being taunted as she walked through a hate-filled mob, on her way to school. Today, Ms. Eckford recalls how difficult it was for her parents, Oscar and Birdie, to allow her to continue the struggle to integrate the Little Rock schools.
Gloria Ray Karlmark enraptured the audience in 2017 at the Central High Integration 60th Anniversary when she talked about how welcomed she finally felt in the city of her lost youth. She was born on September 26, 1942. So her second full day of classes in 1957 was her birthday.
After legal challenges, stymied attempts, and literally countless threats, it was on Wednesday, September 25, 1957, that the group of African American students known as the Little Rock Nine actually entered Little Rock Central High School for a full day. They would return each day through the end of the school year.
On September 24, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne to Little Rock to ensure that the Little Rock Nine would be able to enter Central High School.
Tonight, September 24, 2019, the Tiger Foundation hosts its annual “Awards of Excellence” event at Ron Robinson Theater from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 