 It opened in April, 1887 with a modest civic flower festival, but a month later it hosted the National Opera Company with 300 singers, ballet dancers, and musicians.The Pavilion hosted regular religious meetings, including a series in 1888 where famed evangelist Dwight L. Moody spoke.In attendance at one of these meetings was Harry A. Ironside, which led him to becoming a world-famous preacher in his own right.