On this day (29 May) in 1961 thousands were able to sit on benches installed on the Kippax for the first ever time. But wait a minute, the Kippax wasn’t seated until 1994-95 or was it? So read on to find out what happened in 1961…
Maine Road staged one of the religious events where American evangelist Billy Graham came to preach to thousands in 1961. I cover the story in detail in Farewell To Maine Road but these images show that temporary seating was installed on the Kippax for the event, which took place between 29 May and 17 June 1961.
At this time there were no gates in the Kippax’ perimeter wall leading to the pitch and so special scaffolding steps were erected to allow attendees to climb over the wall and on to the pitch for blessings etc.
Were you at one of these religious events? If so leave your comments about the day below.
For those unfamiliar with Maine Road’s layout at the time, the above photo was taken from about a third of the way up the Kippax between number 6 and 8 on this photo.
If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:
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