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Rhode Island Auditorium

Rhode Island Auditorium
The Arena, The Main Event, Providence Auditorium
Location 1111 North Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02906
Coordinates 41°51′2.34″N 71°24′6.34″W / 41.8506500°N 71.4017611°W / 41.8506500; -71.4017611
Owner Hubert Milot, Louis A. R. Pieri(1938–1967)
Operator Louis A. R. Pieri (Manager, 1929)
Scoreboard Yes
Construction
Opened February 18, 1926
Demolished 1989
Tenants
Providence Reds (AHL) (1926–1972)
Providence Steamrollers (NBA) (1946–1949)

Rhode Island Auditorium was an indoor arena in Providence, Rhode Island, at 1111 North Main Street. It hosted the NBA's Providence Steamrollers from 1946 until 1949, and the Providence Reds ice hockey team until the Providence Civic Center (now the Dunkin' Donuts Center) was opened in 1972. The arena held 5,300 people and opened in 1926. Through the years, a myriad of events including the Ice Capades, public skating, boxing, concerts, and religious events were held at the old barn. After the Reds departed for the downtown Civic Center, the Auditorium, for a time, became a tennis venue.

In 1969, a concert by Sly and the Family Stone at the auditorium was followed by a riot. This led mayor Joseph A. Doorley to ban all rock concerts in Providence; the ban only lasted for a few months.

It was torn down in 1989 and parking affiliated with The Miriam Hospital now occupies the site. In 2009, the Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society, a group formed to commemorate the hockey team, marked the site with a plaque commemorating the team's existence.



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Wikipedia

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