VITAL STATS
Name: Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Address: 300 Court St.
Year Built: 1917
Designer: Clifford Shopbell & Company
Style: Neoclassical
Historical Footnote: The monuments flanking the entrance represent the Union victory in 1865 on the left and elderly Civil War veterans on the right.
Fixes wonโt be fast or cheap, but Jill Hahn says the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Downtown Evansville is too important not to be preserved as a โstate of the art facility with the beauty of yesteryear but new technology.โ
The mission is personal for the Vanderburgh County Council president.
โI have promised too many vets that this is going to honor our past, present, and future military,โ Hahn says. โI lost my father-in-law, a Korean War vet, at age 90 in April 2023. He knew the dream I was working on with many others.โ
The Coliseum is closed this year as its electrical, heating, and air systems are renovated in a $6 million project, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Vanderburgh County officials want the Coliseum to reopen in 2025 and host some events, but Hahn says that depends on whether the building is deemed compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The current work would bring the Coliseum up to current building codes, and with ADA clearance, โwe will hopefully be opening for rental agreements for proms, dances and weddings,โ Hahn says.
In the long term, goals are much bigger. Full restoration as a modern venue and potential future home of Evansville Civic Theatre would take $20-$25 million.
A fundraising event to raise awareness of that campaign is planned Nov. 22 at Old National Events Plaza. The benefit will be patriotic themed โ โUSO style,โ Hahn says โ and will pay tribute to veterans, as the Coliseum has done throughout its 107 years. The Coliseum has military-themed mementos and rooms โ one room is a salute to the Grand Army of the Republic (a fraternal organization of Union veterans from the Civil War), and another spotlights the Spanish-American War.
Hahn says the Coliseumโs full restoration could take 5-10 years. However, the current project will stabilize the building, and Hahn sees excitement in the community to make the Coliseum a vibrant piece of Downtown Evansville for generations to come.
โI have not met anyone in recent months โ since spending the $6 million โ that doesnโt want this better than ever,โ she says. โHowever, it is going to take a lot of help, and hopefully we will see some in-kind work and major donations.โ