1899 - The Woodland Park Auditorium
You might not be familiar with the common heritage and spiritual connection that exists between the Woodland Christian Church and the Kentucky Wildcats. UK began its long tradition of beating Louisville (ahem) at the Woodland Park Auditorium, where our church ministry began.[1]
The talk of the town, in 1899, was whether the city of Lexington should buy the old Chautauqua grounds on the east end of the city. With the enthusiastic support of the mayor, the city bought the park, with its lake, and by 1904 was making plans for construction of the Woodland Park Auditorium.
The popular location was routinely attracting gatherings of as many as 3,000 people.
The Lexington Leader reported,
“Open air services…at Woodland Park Sunday evening…proved a popular move. They were attended last evening by a splendid gathering and their novelty was much enjoyed. For hot summer nights nothing is more desirable than open air meetings.”
On another occasion, Rev. Mark Collis, pastor of the Broadway Christian Church, preached a sermon that was filled with thought and careful study and outlined a basis for church unity. Fully 1,000 people were present to hear his sermon on “The Creeds of Christendom,” an important theme for early Disciples of Christ.
In 1907, the seven existing Lexington churches came together to rent the City Auditorium in Woodland Park as a new congregation was forming. The Auditorium served as the venue for many top attractions of the day including the New York Philharmonic, Geraldine Farrar, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Marian Anderson. The Kentucky Wildcat basketball team played in the auditorium from 1914 until 1916.[1]
By 1971 the auditorium was being used for storage, and as a maintenance building for the city parks and recreation department. The building was ultimately razed in 1973.
[1] Trader 2008, 9-15
[1] My apologies for this overly enthusiastic paragraph, but many of us are CAT fans. This was written during March Madness 2014 as Kentucky rose like Lazarus, and made a run at the NCAA championship, beating Louisville along the way. Apologies and respect to Louisville.
The talk of the town, in 1899, was whether the city of Lexington should buy the old Chautauqua grounds on the east end of the city. With the enthusiastic support of the mayor, the city bought the park, with its lake, and by 1904 was making plans for construction of the Woodland Park Auditorium.
The popular location was routinely attracting gatherings of as many as 3,000 people.
The Lexington Leader reported,
“Open air services…at Woodland Park Sunday evening…proved a popular move. They were attended last evening by a splendid gathering and their novelty was much enjoyed. For hot summer nights nothing is more desirable than open air meetings.”
On another occasion, Rev. Mark Collis, pastor of the Broadway Christian Church, preached a sermon that was filled with thought and careful study and outlined a basis for church unity. Fully 1,000 people were present to hear his sermon on “The Creeds of Christendom,” an important theme for early Disciples of Christ.
In 1907, the seven existing Lexington churches came together to rent the City Auditorium in Woodland Park as a new congregation was forming. The Auditorium served as the venue for many top attractions of the day including the New York Philharmonic, Geraldine Farrar, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Marian Anderson. The Kentucky Wildcat basketball team played in the auditorium from 1914 until 1916.[1]
By 1971 the auditorium was being used for storage, and as a maintenance building for the city parks and recreation department. The building was ultimately razed in 1973.
[1] Trader 2008, 9-15
[1] My apologies for this overly enthusiastic paragraph, but many of us are CAT fans. This was written during March Madness 2014 as Kentucky rose like Lazarus, and made a run at the NCAA championship, beating Louisville along the way. Apologies and respect to Louisville.