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Historic place

Orlando Coliseum (Kemp's Coliseum)

1644 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL

A $300,000 amusement palace that opened with a grand ball on December 23, 1926 and later hosted big band dances and roller skating until a 1972 fire.

📅 1926–1972🏛️ Music VenueDemolished
Open on the mapSlide back to 1926

The story

The Orlando Coliseum formally opened on December 23, 1926, with a grand ball and Tom Dank's eleven-piece Coliseum Orchestra, brought from the St. Petersburg Coliseum. Its cost was reported as $300,000, and plans included a swimming pool with a diving tower. The Orlando Coliseum Corporation was headed by C.F. Cullen.

William Kemp acquired the property in 1937. The Coliseum held Big Band dances in the 1940s, including Johnny Long and his orchestra on March 25, 1946, and it also served as a roller rink with a maple floor, skating from 1928 to 1972. Kemp ran it until his death in 1971. A fire badly damaged the rink and it was torn down, according to 1972 newspaper coverage. The Bowliseum, a bowling alley Kemp built in 1950 at 310 East New Hampshire Avenue, survives with its facade.

What's There Now

The building was torn down; current use of the site was not confirmed.

Everything that was here

Did you know?

The Coliseum Soda Grill was run by Arthur Hutt.
The skating floor was 114 by 132 feet, log cabin style.
A 1962 directory lists an Aquaseum swimming pool at 1640 N. Orange Avenue.

Nearby history

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Sourceshttps://orlandomemory.org/places/the-coliseum/