A really big show

Whatever your historic impressions of 1924 - flappers, speak-easies, the Bambino - they likely lack choral groups.

Such was the case, however. Choral groups were all the rage, but the Westchester County world of the Roaring '20s lacked a venue to join the party.

Enter Agnes Meyer. According

to the county Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, which runs the County Center beside the Bronx River Parkway in White Plains, she is the reason "Elmo Grows Up" will hold thousands of the lollipop set rapt Oct. 25-28 and why some lucky numismatist was able to snag a gold double eagle at last weekend's Stamp, Coin and Paper Money Show.

The Parks Department describes Meyer as energetic and possessing an actual motto: "Health, strength and joy in life." Those were said to be the principals embodied in the County Center, described as "her brainchild."

The building rose between 1928 and 1929 for $785,000. Not surprisingly, the kickoff event - May 22, 1930 - was a gigantic choral event featuring 1,500 groups.

The County Center operating budget today is $4.2 million per year. It hosts "hundreds of events; the Parks Department reckons and employs a full-time staff of 30, plus another 36 who come on for special events. Fourteen shows and conventions will take place there this month. A dozen events in November will span the peppy - a three-day cheerleading competition - to the primitive, a one-day display of reptiles.

"It's one of those little gems," said County Executive Andy Spano. It's not like the great arenas of Nassau County and New York City, but it's our central arena."

Spano first went to the County Center as a boy in the 1940s with his father. He recollects with a bit of uncertainty it was a boxing match.

"It could be more successful," said Spano, who identifies himself as a fan of the art deco building's historic aspects. "We keep it community oriented. We have graduations and high school basketball tournaments that preclude more conventions, but we do it on purpose. We consider it a community facility."

The County Center was designed by the architectural firm Walker and Gillette, still respected nearly a century later as designers of mansions and, contemporaneous with the County Center, Playland Park in Rye, the county-owned amusement park.

"We need to stay with the historic colors, primarily on the outside," said Linda Lovallo, Parks Department customer relations, special events and promotions manager. "Inside, we like to keep the art-deco flavor, as well. We pay major attention to detail. Our eye is always on maintaining the historic nature of the building while making modern improvements." The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and Lovallo's details are evident in art deco lettering and overarching class that would make Jay Gatsby feel right at home.

The worlds of old and new merge with video-ready conference rooms and flat-screen plasma TVs in the lobby - the stuff of science fiction when Walker and Gillette spun their magic.

Parks Commissioner Joseph A. Stout said the future of the County Center involves more athletic and entertainment events and toward that end, the main-event room this fall upped its seating capacity by 1,100, to a maximum 4,400.

"Our goal is to maximize use of the space," Stout said. "Whether next year or 25 years from now, it's the county's community center. It should always be community oriented. That's been the building's mission for 80 years and, hopefully, what its mission will continue to be."

Stout noted the County Center has run for the past eight or nine years without any tax subsidies. "It literally operates as a public business, without tax burden," he said. One goal is for the venue to remain affordable for outfits that include nonprofits.

"There's always a need for indoor space," Stout said. "The building is in pretty good shape. I don't see it going away. It's stood the test of time. I think it will be an icon 50 years from now."

The structure was closed for a year in the mid-1940s when the main roof collapsed, but reopened with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1947. By 1949, 1,163 events were scheduled and they drew nearly 363,000 people.

The County Center need stoop to no arena when it comes to star power and that makes it a regional draw, notably for residents in Fairfield County, Conn., and New York City. It's been said Muhammad Ali is the most recognizable person on the planet. Label him a County Center veteran. And: Richard Nixon, Robert Kennedy, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, the Beach Boys and Arlo Guthrie. The site has also heard music conducted by Leonard Bernstein and songs sung by Leontyne Price.

Count the offbeat among those who use the facility. The Westchester Radio Air Modelers Inc. February flightfest is among the site's longest-running conventions. "It's tremendous," Lovallo said. "They basically take over every square inch of the facility." Want to get hitched in front of several thou-sand of your nearest and dearest? You would not be the first at the County Center, which also hosts bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs in addition to gargantuan nuptials.

KNOCK, KNOCK

What do you say to an elephant in White Plains? In the case of the County Center, you say, "Come on in?" The Royal Hanneford Circus has been wowing them in the arena for 35 consecutive years, now under the direction of Struppi Hanneford, the circus' one-time tiger trainer and aerial director. It's the second-biggest circus in America and the site's longest-running attraction.

Senior citizens are part of the County Center convention fabric. The President's Own Marine Band - popular with all ages, but with near-universal appeal for seniors - plays Nov 5. The Senior Hall of Fame luncheon is Dec. 7. And, on Dec. 31, as for more than 10 years running, the County Center hosts an alcohol-free New Year's shindig 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with one room set aside for music of the Big Bands era ... and younger tastes accommodated in three separate rooms featuring disco and club; rhythm and blues; and oldies rock. Lovallo calls the night "extremely successful;" often attracting multiple generations of the same family. The Times Square countdown is broadcast on big screens. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

The frenetic pace of change within the building keeps labor foreman John Ponce on the move. He has worked there for more than 19 years, often tearing down one convention and setting up another while the world sleeps.

"I love this place," Ponce, a native of South America, said. "When I go back to Ecuador to visit, they say at customs, 'Business or pleasure?' And I always say, 'My business is my pleasure.' "