The Bojangles' Entertainment Complex, home to Bojangles' Coliseum and Ovens Auditorium and casually known as the BoPlex, was dedicated and opened to the public on September 11, 1955, sixty-five years ago. Ovens Auditorium was Charlotte’s first civic auditorium, and was named for David Ovens, a philanthropist, V.P. of Ivey’s department store, and a Canadian immigrant who became a leading advocate for the arts and culture in his adopted city. And at the time of its opening, the Charlotte Coliseum quickly gained international recognition as the largest free-span dome in the world. Its pioneering architectural design would go on to influence the design and construction of domed stadiums and coliseums around the world. Here are both buildings under construction in 1954.
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