The St. Louis Coliseum was built in 1908 by architect Frederick C. Bonsack for a private syndicate led by attorney Guy Golterman, who raised $450,000 after the 1904 World's Fair left the city without a large venue. With a 50,000-square-foot oval arena and seating for 10,000, it was claimed at its cornerstone laying to be the largest public building in the United States. The Coliseum replaced the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall (1883–1907) on the same block and hosted the 1916 Democratic National Convention (nominating Woodrow Wilson), Enrico Caruso (twice — April 1910 with the Metropolitan Opera, and May 1919 for Liberty Loans), Veiled Prophet Balls, boxing, wrestling, trade shows, and tennis matches. Kiel Auditorium, which opened in 1934, rendered it obsolete; it closed in 1939 and was condemned and razed in 1953.
