New Britain herald., 1916-06-13
STAGE ALL SET
 FOR CONVENTION
St. Louis Coliseum As Now Ar
 ranged Will Seat 10000

St. Louis, Mo-, June lS.-Ine ueHl- ocratic national convention which l assemblies here on June IA will be the 1 first political convention to be held in the St. Louis Coliseum. The first pub lie meeting in this building was in the 1 presidential campaign of 1908 when 1 William H. Taft, republican nominee, spoke there. At that time the Colise- um was not completed. Fifteen thou sand persons crowded into the struc- ture for this opening.
 The Coliseum was built in 1907- 19OSa a cost of $336, ,0O0. As arranged
 for the democratic national conven-
 ton it will seat approximately 10000
 persons. This seating capacity is ob-
 tained as follows:
 On the platform are 512 seats. In
 the section for daily newspaper corre
 spondents and press associations are
 472 seats.
 Sections set apart for the editors of
 democratic weekly papers in Missouri
 and Illinois will accommodate 238
 more persons.
 Seats will be provided for 1,078 del- egates and the same number of al- ternates, though there may be some
 slight change in these figures in case some states send extra delegates with a fractional vote.
 In the boxes are seating accommo- dations for 546, in the arena balcony 2,494 and in the balcony 3,400.
 This makes a total of 9,818. Extra seats placed wherever possible throughout the building bring the to- tai seating capacity to about 10000.
 The building is so designed that there is room on the arena floor only for the delegates, alternates and the daily and weekly newspaper men.
 The Coliseum is an octagon, consid- erably narrowed at one end by diag- onal side wall. The greatest length of the building is from north to south and it's narrowest dimension from east to west has been railed off for the platform and press sections. The plat form is forty feet wide, and immedi- ately back of the speakers stand and the tables for tellers and clerks a platform extending rises to the rear of the upper bacony. This extension contains seats for 512 persons. These seats were distributed by the l national committee, and the members | of the committee and their immediate 1 parties are to occupy most of them.
 Around the arena floor on three sides are the boxes, which are re- served for specially invited guests party leaders of prominence, diplo- mats, etc.
 That part of the public which is not fortunate enough to have platform pr box seats is to be accommo dated | n the arena balcony, which rises inn nediately from the boxes, and in the balcony, which corresponds to the l second gallery in most public halls.
 The total number of seats available for the public therefore is 5,894 and 1 he distribution of part of these is aI- oted to the St. Louis committee which 'aised the $100,O00 convention fund.
 On the west side of the Coliseum, pack of the speakers platform are he work rooms for the press associa- ions and the telegraph companies. As his space as originally planned, proved too narrow to accommodate l he press associations, an eight foot oassageway through this section was lbandoned, and by order of the mayor an alley in the rear of the Coliseum was vacated and covered with an awning. This serves as a pas A passageway under the 1 platform leads from the press sections 'n the arena floor to the work and l telegraph rooms in the rear.
 on the north side of the building he Washington avenue side-is a arge emergency hospital on the outh side are the rooms of the dem cratlc national committee, and on he east-or Jefferson avenue-side is he room of the sergeant t-arms, and he convention postofice.
 The decorations of the Coliseum Tere designed by Edward c. Dillnan f St Louis. Tn order to obtain as 1uch daylight as possible, the walls f the Coliseum have been painted yhite. To get the full benefit of this ef1ection it was necessary to exclude ecorations from the walls. The dec- rations, accordingly have been placed i round the front of the balcony and :, 1 oxes and on the supporting columns 1 nat run around the building. 1
 Plaster relief medallions of Wash 1gton, Jefferson, Jackson, Cleveland l i nd Wilson, each four by three feet, { re placed on the supporting columns 1 lear around the building, and each ledallion is surrounded by American ags. The columns are covered with l uniting, and the boxes are hung with : le national colors. To improve the 1 ght reflection, six thousand yards of I 'h1te muslin cover the ceiling, except , or strip down the center which is ung in the national colors. Alto ether 30,O00 yards of bunting were sed in the decoration of the conven- on hall and 600 tn 7NA Aroerican |