— by Trinity Kovalick
In the early 1920s live music was the bees knees. A budding city like Tacoma had been gaining in popularity as they didn’t adhere to strict rules like Blue Laws that required venues in Seattle to stop playing music at a certain hour. Linked directly to prohibition and founded out of religious beliefs, laws like these – and specifically Tacoma’s work-around – allowed the music scene to gain a major footing. Thanks to places like Brown Spots, the city was a notable stop on the railroad journey for many musicians.
As the city began to increase in population and popularity, Tacoma had to keep up with the demand for entertainment. In 1926 the construction for the Greenwich Coliseum began. Located at 407 South 13th Street, the large building was built by the Purkey Brothers and designed by W.R. Grant. It was a venue designated to two primary purposes: athletics (boxing) and music.
The Coliseum was one of a kind. Nestled between downtown and Hilltop, this venue was said to have been tailored perfectly to its time and place. A main element that set it apart from the surrounding venues was that it welcomed women without a male escort. They even hosted “ladies nites!” Back then, a large portion of the downtown population were single women who moved to Tacoma to find work in the offices, restaurants, stores, and entertainment facilities that were rapidly growing in size, popularity, and success.
Known as “The Entertainment Center of Tacoma” in 1927, the Coliseum hosted dancing on Tuesday and Saturday nights, boxing on Thursday/Friday, and rental events on Sundays and Wednesdays. Only a few months after the auditorium was constructed, a New Year’s Eve “frolic” was advertised in the Tacoma News Tribune, directly to women. Director Frank Collins and Collins’ Musical Band-Its were the featured performers. Collins was said to have “assembled a real aggregation of musicians who know how to deliver!” The Coliseum found success in hosting boxing matches and live music events, but to be successful the venue was also used for political rallies, garden and dog shows, pageants, contests and dance expositions. Soon, though, this venue faced competition from the music and picture shows that were quickly gaining footing in the Tacoma theaters. Due to the increase in competition for attendees, the Coliseum sought out permitting to convert the second floor to a skating rink in 1929.
By 1930, the Coliseum was booming with life. Novelty bands and orchestras like Mike Doty’s Orchestra played here for days at a time. Together, the Coliseum and Mike Doty’s Orchestra put on a number of events. They did Halloween dances featuring the orchestra and “600 Pounds of Harmony” as well as a Christmas dance. Held for two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas day, the dance was a fantastic event for local funmakers.
Mike Doty and his orchestra frequented the Greenwich Coliseum often in the early 30s but, like many artists do today, other venues began to gain popularity over the Coliseum and this crew played elsewhere. Major attractions like the Crescent Ballroom and the Winthrop Hotel offered a different, and arguably more snooty atmosphere than the Coliseum, which also likely meant higher pay for the musicians that performed there. Mike Doty and his orchestra offered a classic sound that gets the body moving. Imagine how busy it would have been in the auditorium with a crowd dancing to tunes like this!
When prohibition ended in 1932, taverns and nightclubs that sold alcohol really took away from the surge of attendance that the years prior had seen. The Greenwich Coliseum was featured a lot in the Tacoma News Tribune in the 30s due to this major success as a boxing venue, so I imagine that seeing large ads for dances and musical events caught the eye even more as they became less common in this auditorium.
Featured a lot in 1933 was Gene Coy’s Happy Black Aces, a popular Big Band Jazz group from Amarillo, Texas. It’s said that between 1929 and 1933 Coy’s band included some of the best jazz performers of the Southwest, like bassist Junior Raglin who went on to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Gene Coy’s band traveled extensively, including going to Mexico and Canada. When the band toured the Pacific Northwest they renamed themselves “Gene Coy and his Harlem Swing.” Recordings of Gene Coy’s music didn’t exist until 1949, so capturing the performances of their prime was out of the picture, but a taste of the talent may exist on subscriptions platforms like AppleMusic, Spotify, or Amazon Music.
Another group that frequented the Coliseum in the late 30s was Joe Thomas and the ‘Dukes of Rhythm.’ Thomas’ work is also hard to find samples of today except for an odd piece here and there like this one from later in his career. This is an example of his sound, but likely separate from the ‘Dukes of Rhythm’ that was featured at the Greenwich Coliseum.
A big attraction with Joe Thomas’ performances at the Coliseum was the “jitterbug” contests he would host. Offering cash prizes and partaking in a usual radio broadcast, this novelty entertainment by the swing band was of high demand in 1938.
In the 40s, the Coliseum had to make more changes to keep business afloat and began expanding its offerings. In 1941 the sports auditorium was renovated with bowling lanes, pool tables, and a large neon sign reading “Tacoma’s Finest” outside to attract patrons. Being that bowling is a sport, this wasn’t a stretch for the venue, but musical events seemed to start to dwindle with there being so many more accommodations relating to athletics.
Stretching into the 70s as a sports area, the last game was played in 1972 just before the bowling alley was closed in June of that year. It wasn’t long before the other businesses in the building’s offices and retail fronts closed or had to move due to the demolition of the Greenwich Coliseum in 1975 to make room for a parking lot as part of city expansion.
About the Author
Trinity Kovalick prepared this article as her final project for TARTS 225: Musical History of Tacoma, taught by Kim Davenport at the University of Washington, Tacoma. At the time she took the class in Autumn Quarter 2023, she was a senior majoring in Arts, Media and Culture.
Tacoma Music History 
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