The Memorial Coliseum was an arena in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

that had a capacity of about 3,000 which was demolished in June 2010.

Dedication

The Coliseum was dedicated on September 26, 1954 to 400 men and women who gave their lives in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The dedication was sponsored by the Gold Star Mothers of Texas and was attended by local, state and military officials. It is also notable that tejano music star

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

performed here on February 7, 1993 in a live concert which would later be released on CD as Selena Live! that also won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

in 1994.

Architecture

The Memorial Coliseum was an architecturally significant building of the

Mid-Century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

style. Extremely well constructed, its footings were anchored into the original

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

, well below the 1940s fill. The curved roof contained 260 tons of

structural steel Structural steel is steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section (geometry), cross section. Structural steel sha ...

in a lamella space frame (diamond shape design) with a thin concrete cover. This strong, yet light roof structure allowed for the barrel-shaped 224-foot unsupported span, which was the world’s longest when it was built. As an additional plus factor, this kind of construction keeps

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

costs low and maintenance over 40 years is lower than in traditional buildings.
The

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of Memorial Coliseum, Richard S. Colley, was Corpus Christi's local star in the world of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

.
The original design included a comprehensive plan for a bayfront 'Civic Center' which would include a

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, an auditorium/coliseum, a medium-size exposition hall and two parks. Colley's Coliseum design began attracting the attention of the national architectural community even before it was built. In January 1952, the ‘auditorium plan’ (Coliseum and Exposition Hall) was awarded the annual jury prize by '' Progressive Architecture'' for being “the most noteworthy submission among buildings for public use.” The entire complex (Coliseum, Exposition Hall and City Hall) were featured in a 16-page article in the February 1953 issue of ''Progressive Architecture'' which included

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

s and

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

details.
In 1954, during the final construction phase of the Coliseum, ''Progressive Architecture'' featured the building again. Its lamella roof was pictured on the magazine’s cover and the related article discussed the design of the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

and included several photos of the building under construction.

Photographs

In 1955, Memorial Coliseum was included in the “Building and Construction” section of the

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Book-of-the-Year.
In 1958, the Coliseum was photographed for the Carnegie Study of the Arts of the United States by photographer John Waggaman. It was chosen because of its “significance in the history of American Architecture” and for its “successful merger of beauty and functionality.” A photograph of Memorial Coliseum was also displayed in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

pavilion at

Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...

, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair.
Both the unusual design and the innovative construction methods of Memorial Coliseum were featured in ''

Engineering News-Record The ''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most au ...

'', ''

Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownershi ...

'',

United States Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

trade magazine, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

'', ''Welding Arcs'', ''L’architecture d’aujourd’hui'' (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), ''Techniques et Architecture'' (France) and ''Informes de la Construccion'' (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), just to name a few.

Demolition

As of January 12, 2010 the Memorial Coliseum was scheduled to be

demolished Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...

.New plan for coliseum
/ref> The coliseum was taken down by demolition June 30, 2010.

Bibliography

* "Civic Buildings: Corpus Christi.” ''Progressive Architecture'' 34 (February 1953): 83-92.
“Civilian Defense Building and City Auditorium: Corpus Christi, Texas.” ''Progressive Architecture'' 33 (June 1952): 83. * “Cubierta Aligerada De Gran Luz.” ''Informes de la Construccion'' (April 1955). * Dames, Urban. “Columbia Iron Welds Structural Steel Framework.” ''Welding Arcs'' 20 (January 1954): 12-13. * “High Span Light Roof.” ''Architectural Forum'' (March 1954). * Kiewitt, Dr. G.R. “The New Look in Lamella Roof Construction.” Reprinted from February 1960 ''Architectural Record'' by Roof Structures, Inc. * “Lamella Steel Arches: Convention and Exhibition Hall, Corpus Christi, Texas.” ''Progressive Architecture'' 35 (June 1954): 106-107. * Peissi, P. "Quelques Réflexions sur l'esthétique de la construction métallique." ''L'architecture d'aujourd'hui'' (March 1956): 74-75. * “Steel lamella supports long-span roof.” ''Engineering News-Record'' (November 26, 1953): 41.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Corpus Christi, Texas Defunct ice hockey venues in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Texas 1954 establishments in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas Sports venues demolished in 2010