Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock, originally dubbed the Joseph T. Robinson Memorial Auditorium, often made headlines before, during and after its recently completed 28-month, $70.5 million renovation, Linda S. Haymes writes in Tuesday's Style section.
The events in promoter Eugene T. “Gene” Oliver’s scrapbook include a wide array of entertainment, from an acclaimed opera singer and a Hollywood film legend to a gay (mood, not orientation) 1890s revue with Flora Bora and cancan girls to vaudeville acts offering stripteases, exotic dances, and even minstrel shows. Back then, local phone numbers were only four digits, tickets cost a dollar or two and to buy them, patrons could write, phone or send a telegram.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.