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Civic Center History

The Holland Civic Center was first built in 1954, where it hosted many different events. The most popular events that were held there were athletic events. The very first event held in the Civic Center was a Harlem                                                                                                Globetrotters basketball game, in which 2,700 people showed up to watch the                                                                              game, even though there was no seating at the time. After that event, many other                                                                      significant athletic events were held, such as the 'Miracle on 8th Street', a                                                                                      Women's College Basketball game where the women won a National                                                                                                  Championship in 1990 after scoring a free-throw buzzer-beater to win the game,                                                                        after they had been losing by 20 points during the game.

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Going even further back, before the Civic Center had been built, the area used to serve as a tannery. The tannery belonged to the very first ever mayor of Holland, Isaac Cappon, and his partner, John Bertsch. It is found that some of the remains of the tannery are used as decoration for the current Civic

Center building. In fact, the old tannery floor is being used as the background of

the history wall found upstairs, as well as the 'Civic Center' letters on the old

building.

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The Civic Center was recently remodeled in 2018, where the building occupied

a larger amount of space. This included a brand new atrium at the front of the

                                                                                                  building and a new wing on the north side which is now used for                                                                                                            multiple different events. In today's time, the Holland Civic Center                                                                                                        has been hosting events such as weddings and/or receptions,                                                                                                                concerts, basketball games, expo's, ceremonies, and much more.                                                                                                        Looking back in history, the Civic Center has improved immensely                                                                                                        in their variety of different events they can host.

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