DaytonDailyNews.com

You would think Daytonians would grow numb to news that a piece of local history is endangered and could be closed indefinitely.

But when I read the front page story in our newspaper Sunday listing the various cutbacks planned because of the economy, I realized Dayton's Memorial Hall will be mothballed in August.

The auditorium has been closed since the Schuster Center was dedicated in 2003, but Montgomery County employees have maintained offices there.

Now the structure at 125 E. First St., opened in 1910 as a stellar showplace as well as a structure honoring military veterans, has an uncertain future.

Many of us will remember Memorial Hall with warmth and memories of time well spent there. We remember the grand foyer complete with oil paintings, stained-glass skylights, marble pillars and bronzed plaques.

U.S. Rep. James M. Cox, who later became governor of Ohio, a presidential candidate and founder of the Dayton Daily News and later Cox Enterprises, presided over the hall's dedication in January 1910.

Among notables who spoke in the building were Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, Harding and Truman.

When performers Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy sang there, lines of autograph seekers snaked down First Street to Main.

Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhart and William Jennings Bryan also graced the stage.

The structure has hosted auto shows, political rallies, basketball games and Tuesday night wrestling. There have been church meetings, business conventions, grand balls and elegant weddings there.

And every summer for more than two decades beginning in 1957, a wiry red-headed dancer-turned-producer named John Kenley filled the stage with Broadway productions. His summer stock productions included Zsa Zsa Gabor, Joey Heatherton, Ann Miller, Mickey Rooney, Andy Williams, Paul Lynde and more.

The Junior League of Dayton brought to the stage an outstanding list of newsworthy personalities and authors as part of the Town Hall series, which now meets at the Schuster.

Literally thousands of young people walked the stage to be awarded a high school diploma.

Do you have special memories of an event you enjoyed at Memorial Hall? Do you have photos to share? Feel free to send along your stories. We'll share as many as we can between now and August.

If history is our teacher, we know what comes next. Without a miraculous financial turnaround, the result we all fear is predictable — the statues in front will be moved. That will signal the end of Memorial Hall.

Dale Huffman wants your suggestions and story ideas. He'd like to share a story about you, your family, or a friend. This column is for you. Send e-mail to dhuffman@DaytonDailyNews.com or write to Dale at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-2489. Phone: (937) 225-2272.