September 6, 2010
On Sept. 11, 1961, the first two black students to enroll in a white public school began classes at Lake Worth High School, making Palm Beach County the fourth in the state to begin integration. Later that day, Palm Beach Junior college admitted its first black student. The Palm Beach Post declared that "integration came quietly and smoothly" to the schools.
Click on the image to browse the Sept. 12, 1961, Palm Beach Post....
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August 30, 2010
The September 3, 1967, dedication of the West Palm Beach Auditorium kicked off a week of free shows featuring country, rock and roll, and ice skating performers. Afternoon thunderstorms on opening day didn't interfere with the dedication show, but the auditorium will be remembered by many as the "leaky teepee" for the cone-shaped roof that couldn't keep all the rain out.
1967 Palm Beach Post staff file photo
About 3,600 people attended the West Palm Beach Auditorium dedication. (1967 Palm Beach Post staff file photo)
Some memorable moments in the history of the West Palm Beach Auditorium:
In 1972 the rock musical "Hair" opened at the auditorium after a court overturned a ban on the performance, saying the auditorium manager didn't have the right to dictate what is "wholesome family entertainment."
Hundreds of people waited in line in 30-degree temperatures to buy tickets for Elvis Presley's Feb. 13, 1977, performance at the auditorium, in what would be the King's final tour.
A 1981 Palm Beach Post story called the multipurpose auditorium "multitroubled."
The moat around the auditorium stood empty in 1984, awaiting planned repairs.
But...
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