Chicago Coliseum was the name applied to three large indoor arenas in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, which stood successively from the 1860s to 1982; they served as venues for sports events, large (national-class) conventions and as exhibition halls. The first Coliseum stood at State and Washington streets in Chicago's downtown in the late 1860s. The second, at 63rd Street near Stony Island Avenue in the south side's Woodlawn community (near the site of the 1893 World's Fair), hosted the 1896 Democratic National Convention. The third Chicago Coliseum was located at 1513 South Wabash Avenue on the near south side; it hosted five consecutive

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s, ( 1904,

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

, 1912, 1916, 1920) and the Progressive Party National Convention in 1912 and 1916. It also hosted the

Lincoln Jubilee The National Half Century Exposition and Lincoln Jubilee, also known as the National Half Century Anniversary Exposition and The Lincoln Jubilee : 50th Anniversary Celebration, was held in Chicago from August 22 to September 16, 1915, and celebrat ...

in 1915. In the 1960s and early 1970s it served as a general admission venue for rock concerts, roller derbys and professional wrestling matches; it closed in 1971 and was sold for redevelopment in 1982; however, portions of the building remained standing until the early 1990s.

History: the first Coliseum

The first Coliseum hosted horse shows, boxing matches, and circus acts beginning in 1866. Typical of most 19th century cities, Chicago had a flourishing bachelor subculture, which made events at the Coliseum often rowdy affairs. The arena's history is hazy as there are no accurate sources as to when it opened or closed.

The second Coliseum

Chicago Coliseum (Officialproceedi1896demo 0020) (cropped)

The second Coliseum, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the city's south side, had a difficult history. Initial construction began early in 1895 on a site of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, h ...

, but on August 22, the incomplete structure collapsed, and builders had to start over. Construction of the building entailed the use of of steel, of lumber, and 3 million bricks, and was finally completed in June 1896. The building was impressive in size for its day, twice as large as

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

; its interior was supported by 12 massive arches, high with a span of . The facility housed of interior floor space. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opened the facility, and in July 1896, it hosted the Democratic Party's national convention, which nominated for the presidency

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

; he famously electrified the crowd with his historic "Cross of Gold" speech. In October 1896 the Coliseum hosted the Barnum and Bailey Circus, the largest three-ring circus in the country. College football teams immediately saw the feasibility of playing indoor games in the Coliseum, and four big games took place: *

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

vs.

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1896; won by Chicago, 7–6. * Carlisle Indian School vs.

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, December 19, 1896; won by Carlisle, 18–8. * Carlisle Indian School vs.

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

, November 20, 1897; won by Carlisle, 23–6. * University of Michigan vs. University of Chicago, Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1897; won by Chicago, 21–12. The Carlisle games represented the first time the Carlisle Indian School played in the Midwest. In 1896, 8,000 fans each attended the Chicago-Michigan and Carlisle-Wisconsin games, and in 1897, 12,000 fans attended the Carlisle-Illinois game and 10,000 showed for the second Michigan-Chicago game. In January 1897, the Coliseum hosted one of the largest trade shows in the country, the annual Bicycle manufacturer's trade show. Another grand trade show took place in October, the Chicago Horse Show. The Coliseum by this time was hailed as a financial success. Besides football games, the facility hosted bicycle races, the Military and Athletic Carnival of the AAU, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, horse shows, agricultural exhibitions, and commercial trade shows. On December 24, 1897, around 6:00 PM, during the Manufacturers' Carnival and Winter Fair, after many visitors had left the exhibit for supper, a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring broke out and swept through the building. Despite initial reports of numerous deaths, only one fireman died (not a city fire fighter, but the facility's furnace man). The building was completely destroyed, primarily when one of the 12 arches supporting the roof fell over to bring down all the other arches like a row of dominoes. The fire consumed the building within 20 minutes. This massive structure, one of the greatest indoor facilities of the 19th century, had a lifespan of only 19 months.

The third Coliseum

Candy manufacturer

Charles F. Gunther Charles Frederick Gunther (March 6, 1837 – February 10, 1920) was a German-American wealthy confectioner, politician, and collector. He purchased many of the items now owned by the Chicago History Museum.Libby Prison, a structure in Richmond, Virginia, constructed as a warehouse which became a Confederate prison during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

. Gunther had it dismantled, shipped to Chicago on 132 railroad cars, and rebuilt in 1889 as the Libby Prison War Museum, which displayed memorabilia from the Civil War. After about a decade the old prison was torn down again, except for a castellated wall that became part of the new Chicago Coliseum. In January 1902, the Coliseum Garden Company procured a five-year lease from the Coliseum "to provide music and high class vaudeville entertainments" for the months of June, July, August and September. Until 1908, the Coliseum hosted the notorious

First Ward Ball The First Ward Ball was an annual political fundraiser with 10,000–15,000 attendees held in Chicago from 1896 until 1908, until the city revoked the liquor license in 1909. It was notorious for the riot-like behavior of the illustrious guests. Ac ...

, an annual political fundraiser for the two First Ward aldermen "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna – Coughlin and Kenna had been known as the "Lords of the Levee". Mayor

Fred Busse Fred A. Busse (March 3, 1866 – July 9, 1914) was the mayor of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois, from 1907 to 1911. Biography Busse became a local Republican leader, first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1894 and ag ...

was finally successful in halting the Ball in 1909. From 1904 through 1920, this Coliseum hosted five consecutive

s, and the Progressive Party convention in 1912 and 1916. During World War II, the army used the structure to house a radio training school which was previously in the nearby

Stevens Hotel The Hilton Chicago (also known as Chicago Hilton and Towers) is a centrally-located luxury hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The hotel is a Chicago landmark that overlooks Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, Lake Michigan, and the Museum Ca ...

Ice hockey

In 1926, the Coliseum built an ice rink at the arena to support professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

. The Coliseum hosted the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) from 1926–1929 with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile th ...

of 6,000. It was also the home of the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

(later renamed Chicago Americans) of the American Hockey Association (AHA) for the season of 1926–27 and the Chicago Shamrocks of the AHA from 1931–32. In June 1928, fight promoter Paddy Harmon announced plans to construct

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

, with the Black Hawks as the marquee tenants. As the 1928–29 NHL season approached, the Stadium was not yet ready, and Blackhawks owner Major Frederic McLaughlin had had a falling-out with Harmon. Consequently, the Blackhawks arranged to continue playing at the Coliseum. However, they could only get ice time through January 1929; they played the remainder of their "home" games in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and in

Fort Erie, Ontario Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of ...

, across the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are diffe ...

from Buffalo. The Blackhawks were back at the Coliseum as the 1929–30 season opened, but negotiations with the Stadium resumed in the fall of 1929 after Harmon was deposed as head of the Chicago Stadium Corporation. In December 1929, the team began play at the Stadium. In 1932, another dispute led the Blackhawks to return temporarily to the Coliseum, for their first three home games of the 1932–33 campaign. On November 21, the Blackhawks defeated the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, 2–1, in their final game on Coliseum ice. Canadiens superstar

Howie Morenz Howard William Morenz (September 21, 1902 – March 8, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Montreal Canadiens (in two stints), the Chicago Bla ...

was the last player to score an NHL goal at the Coliseum, assisted by Aurel Joliat and Johnny Gagnon, at 7:06 of the second period.

Other events

With the Blackhawks gone and the Great Depression in full swing, use of the arena was limited. In 1935, promoter Leo Seltzer, drawing on the Depression-era popularity of roller skating, conceived the idea of a

Roller Derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (j ...

. In 1935, he staged the world's first Roller Derby at the arena. The event drew more than 20,000 people. Over its history, the Coliseum featured a wide variety of other events that included the 1915 Lincoln Jubilee, which celebrated 50-years since the abolition of slavery in the U.S.; sessions of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in June 1926; bowling tournaments; professional wrestling bouts that included stars Gorgeous George and

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was t ...

; circuses meetings of Black Muslims;

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Calif ...

and the last convention of the radical antiwar organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in June 1969.

Refurbishing for the Chicago Zephyrs

The arena was re-furbished for use by the Chicago Packers, an expansion NBA team. Among the improvements was an increase of the seating capacity to 7,000. After playing their first season in the

International Amphitheater The International Amphitheatre was an indoor arena located in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1934 and was demolished in 1999. It was located on the west side of Halsted Street, at 42nd Street, on the city's south side, in the Canaryville ne ...

, the Packers changed their name to the Zephyrs and moved into the Coliseum in 1962. In 1963 they moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and took the name Bullets. (Today they are known as the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

). The NBA would return to Chicago with the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

expansion team in 1966, but the Bulls opted to use the International Amphitheatre and then

as their home courts, so the Coliseum remained without a major tenant. The Bulls now play at the

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

The Syndrome

During the 1960s and early 1970s, many popular bands of the era played The Coliseum, including

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

(twice in 1968), Jethro Tull,

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

(December 1, 1968),

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

(November 3, 1968) or B.B. King (May 16, 1970). During 1970 and 1971, The Coliseum occasionally saw duty as "The Syndrome", a general-admission venue for rock music concerts. The inaugural concert was staged on Friday, October 16, 1970, featuring Humble Pie, Brethren, Chase, and the headline act, Grand Funk Railroad. Other bands that played The Syndrome included Rod Stewart and the Faces,

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, an ...

, Steppenwolf, New Riders of the Purple Sage,

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Billboar ...

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Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

, Siegel-Schwall Band, Mott The Hoople, and Savoy Brown. On March 8, 1971, riots erupted at both The Chicago Coliseum and Chicago Amphitheater amongst fans attempting to watch a live, closed-circuit television broadcast of the Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier fight being staged at Madison Square Garden in New York. When Coliseum projection equipment broke down, management asked an audience of 7,000 to leave just before the fight began. "..A group of youths, angered by the announcement began tearing up ticket counters near the door and throwing them thru icthe front windows. Others, who had paid $10 a head to see the fight, began hurtling chairs and bottles from the balcony onto the main floor. An estimated 80 police were rushed to the Coliseum to restore order." As a result of the damage, all scheduled concerts were cancelled with the exception of March 12, 1971, featuring

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one o ...

. On March 13, 1971, the city shut the building due to fire code violations, and it fell into disrepair. In 1982, it was sold for redevelopment and partially demolished; however, the planned construction never took place and large portions of the outer wall facing Wabash remained until the early 1990s when it was finally cleared. Part of the Libby facade was given to the

Chicago History Museum Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the in ...

. The site is now occupied by the Soka Gakkai USA Culture Center. Coliseum Park, located across Wabash Avenue on the site of the former Haven School at 14th Place and Wabash Avenue, commemorates the Coliseum.

Bibliography

* Pruter, Robert. "Chicago's Other Coliseum." ''Chicago History Magazine.'' Spring 2012, pp. 44–65.

References

External links

Chicago Coliseum on ballparks.com

{{coord, 41, 51, 43, N, 87, 37, 30, W, type:landmark, display=title 1982 disestablishments in the United States Basketball venues in Chicago Boxing venues in Chicago Buildings and structures demolished in 1982 Chicago Blackhawks arenas Former National Basketball Association venues Defunct college football venues Defunct indoor arenas in Illinois Defunct National Hockey League venues Defunct sports venues in Illinois Demolished sports venues in Illinois Former buildings and structures in Chicago Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Chicago Indoor ice hockey venues in Chicago National Basketball League (United States) venues Sports venues in Chicago Wrestling venues in Chicago 1860s establishments in the United States