The Coliseum Pavilion/Roller Rink was at 449 Lexington Parkway at University, St. Paul. With 25,000 sq. ft. of dance floor, it hosted dance marathons in the 1920s and ’30s. Wally Erickson’s Coliseum Orchestra was the house band for most of the 1920s and early ’30s.  It was the site of many dances held by the black community in the 1920s.  It became a roller skating rink until it closed in 1958, owned by Johnny Lane.

Wally Erickson’s Coliseum Orchestra, @ 1925. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

1927 photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Coliseum Roller Rink Band from 1927, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society.

The Coliseum was part of the left field fence for the Lexington Ball Park and patrons could often hear the sound of baseballs hitting the roof. 1930 MNHS. Thanks, Rick Schlosser. The ballpark was demolished in 1958 and the site became a Red Owl Grocery Store. Presumably the Coliseum went at the same time.

Sue Tad Nelson’s father, Sam Spector worked at the St. Paul Coliseum – Sue provided the two photos below, with her father at the left in both of them: