From sports to music, the downtown workhorse Baltimore Arena has seen it all

On opening night, Oct. 23, 1962, the Baltimore Arena was called the Civic Center. Mayor J. Harold Grady threw out a ceremonial first ice puck at 8:33 p.m. for the contest between the Baltimore Clippers and the Providence Reds. A capacity crowd of more than 10,000 was expected; 7,760 showed up. Baltimore won, 5-4. The workhouse arena is about to undergo a refurbishment to renew the place that hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Beatles, Luciano Pavarotti and decades of returning circus elephants and lions in its six decades.