A local landmark will shut its doors for good.
The owner of the Col Ballroom made the announcement this week.
The venue is more than a century old and has been home to national acts from Duke Ellington and Billy May to Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix, whose signature is on the wall backstage.
“He thought I was crazy,” recalls Leigh Reitz.
Three years ago, the retired factory worker gathered her savings.
“I went home one day and I said, ‘Husband, I’m going to buy the Col Ballroom,'” Reitz says.
And suddenly, the girl who grew up going to the Col found herself the owner of it.
“This is where I was as a kid and it was kind of an escape,” says the now-grandmother.
She’s not the only one.
Rudy Hernandez says the Col, “Was the place to go during the ’60s.”
The 70-year-old says he and other baby boomers grew up at the grand ballroom.
“This was an area where souped up cars would drive around and go in circles and in the summer the kids would all hang out in front of here,” he says.
It’s also where he had his final hurrah before joining the service.
“One of the best groups I saw here was an artist I heard on the radio and his name was Jimi Hendrix,” Hernandez remembers.
“It was so packed that people were flocked outside and they actually had to block off the road because they had to open the doors so everybody could hear Hendrix because nobody could get inside.”
Reitz says she’s enjoyed seeing the dance floor become a part of other childhoods.
“I love to see those kids come down the stairs on their Quinceañera and they’re just so happy,” says Reitz.
But she says reality has crept into her dream.
“I was using all my money and every penny that we made we put back in, we fixed the stage, we put a new fire alarm system, new electrical boxes and I just said, ‘I don’t think I can make it through another winter.'”
Reitz says it’s been hard to let go.
“Maybe I’ll win the lottery. Because if I did, boy, I’d fix this place up more and I’d stay here til I was gone.”
She still hopes it’s not a goodbye at all, but a “See you later.”
“I’m hoping to find that person that’s going to have the heart that I have to keep this going because it’s 104 years old and just so many memories,” Reitz says.
But for now, she’s inviting everyone to a final fling: Soul Fest.
That’s what brings Hernandez to the ballroom on Wednesday afternoon.
“I want to be part of that final day when they say, ‘We’re done,'” Hernandez says.
One last memory to send off the century-old building.
“It was my love and I loved it then and I love it now,” says Reitz.
Soul Fest is scheduled for October 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Col Ballroom.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
You can more information by clicking here.
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