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Chicago Coliseum
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==The third Coliseum== {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | width = 160 | header = Third Coliseum |image1=1904 RNC opening prayer.jpg |caption1=[[1904 Republican National Convention]] |image2=Republican-National-Convention-1908.jpg |caption2=[[1908 Republican National Convention]] |image3=Republican National Convention 1912.jpg |caption3=[[1912 Republican National Convention]] | image4=Roosevelt speaking in convention hall, Chicago.jpg | caption4=[[1912 Progressive National Convention]] | image5=Chicago Coliseum 1916 Republican National Convention.jpg | caption5 = [[1916 Republican National Convention]] | image6 =Republican National Convention, 1920 LCCN2007663528 (cropped3).jpg | caption6 = [[1920 Republican National Convention]] | footer_align = center }} Candy manufacturer [[Charles F. Gunther]] built the third Coliseum at 1513 South Wabash Avenue<ref>{{cite news|title=Chicago Time Machine|url=http://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/libby-prison-and-coliseum|work=WTTW Interactive History}}</ref> in 1899. He purchased [[Libby Prison]], a structure in Richmond, Virginia, constructed as a warehouse which became a Confederate prison during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. 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.<ref name=action>{{cite news| title=Action Express| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1974/06/14/page/21/article/action-express| work=Chicago Tribune| date=June 14, 1971| page=1, Section 1A}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book| title=Arnstein & Lehr, The First 120 Years| first=Louis A.| last=Lehr, Jr.| page=3| publisher=Arnstein & Lehr LLP| date=March 25, 2014| isbn=978-0615895031}}</ref> Until 1908, the Coliseum hosted the notorious [[First Ward Ball]], an annual political fundraiser for the two First Ward aldermen [[John Coughlin (alderman)|"Bathhouse" John Coughlin]] and [[Michael Kenna (politician)|Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna]] β Coughlin and Kenna had been known as the "Lords of [[The Levee, Chicago|the Levee]]". Mayor [[Fred A. Busse|Fred Busse]] was finally successful in halting the Ball in 1909. From 1904 through 1920, this Coliseum hosted five consecutive [[Republican National Convention]]s, and the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|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 [[Hilton Chicago|Stevens Hotel]].<ref name=school>{{cite news| title=Army Expands Radio School to Coliseum Today| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1942/08/05/page/10/article/army-expands-radio-school-to-coliseum-today| date=August 5, 1942| work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> ===Ice hockey=== In 1926, the Coliseum built an ice rink at the arena to support professional [[ice hockey]]. The Coliseum hosted the [[Chicago Black Hawks]] of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) from 1926β1929 with a [[seating capacity]] of 6,000. It was also the home of the [[Chicago Cardinals (ice hockey)|Chicago Cardinals]] (later renamed Chicago Americans) of the [[American Hockey Association (1926β42)|American Hockey Association]] (AHA) for the season of 1926β27 and the [[Chicago Shamrocks]] of the AHA from 1931β32. In June 1928, fight promoter Paddy Harmon announced plans to construct [[Chicago Stadium]], with the Black Hawks as the marquee tenants. As the 1928β29 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]] and in [[Fort Erie, Ontario]], across the [[Niagara River]] from Buffalo. The Blackhawks were back at the Coliseum as the 1929β30 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 1932β33 campaign. On November 21, the Blackhawks defeated the [[Montreal Canadiens]], 2β1, in their final game on Coliseum ice. Canadiens superstar [[Howie Morenz]] 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=== [[File:Lincoln jubilee album - 50th anniversary of our emancipation, held in Chicago August 22d to September 16th, 1915 (1915) (14779833144).jpg|thumb|The [[Lincoln Jubilee]] in 1915]] 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.;<ref>{{cite news| title=Lincoln Jubilee to Open Today in the Coliseum| page=9| work=Chicago Tribune| date=August 22, 1915| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1915/08/22/page/9/article/lincoln-jubilee-to-open-today-in-the-coliseum}}</ref> sessions of the 28th International [[Eucharistic Congress]] in June 1926; bowling tournaments;<ref name=Lupkin>{{cite book| title=Places of Assembly| url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/333.html| work=[[Encyclopedia of Chicago]]| last=Lupkins| first=Paula R.| year=2005| publisher=Chicago Historical Society}}</ref> professional wrestling bouts that included stars [[Gorgeous George]] and [[Angelo Poffo]];<ref>{{cite web| title=Chicago Wrestling Resultsβ1937| url=http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/Chicago37.html| last=Hornbaker| first=Tim| date=March 9, 2010| access-date=2016-02-10}}</ref> circuses<ref>{{cite news| title=Polk Brothers Plans Big Party| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/01/26/page/52/article/polk-brothers-plans-big-party| work=Chicago Tribune| date=January 26, 1965| page=4, Section 3}}</ref> meetings of Black Muslims;<ref>{{cite news| title=Bomb Threat to Muslims!| page=1| date=February 24, 1965| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/02/24/page/1/article/bomb-threat-to-muslims| last=Fitzpatrick| first=Thomas| work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> [[Black Panthers Party|Black Panthers]]<ref>{{cite news| title=News Briefs: Panther Leader to Speak Here| page=3| date=February 18, 1971| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/02/18/page/3/article/news-briefs| last=Enstad| first=Robert| work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> and the last convention of the radical antiwar organization [[Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)|Students for a Democratic Society]] (SDS) in June 1969.<ref>{{cite news| title=Badly Split S.D.S. Ends Its Convention| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1969/06/23/page/7/article/badly-split-s-d-s-ends-its-convention| first1=Robert| last1=Enstad| first2=Steven| last2=Pratt| date=June 23, 1969| work=Chicago Tribune| page=7}}</ref> With the ice hockey's Blackhawks gone and the [[Great Depression]] in full swing in the 1930s, 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]]. In 1935, he staged the world's first Roller Derby at the arena. The event drew more than 20,000 people.<ref>{{cite news| title=The Man Who Got Roller Derby Rolling Along| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-21-me-10190-story.html| date=February 21, 1999| first=Cecilia| last=Rasmussen| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]| access-date=2016-02-10}}</ref> ===Refurbishing for the Chicago Zephyrs=== The arena was re-furbished for use by the Chicago Packers, an expansion [[National Basketball Association|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 Packers changed their name to the [[Chicago Zephyrs|Zephyrs]] and moved into the Coliseum in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hareas |first=John | title=A Colorful Tradition |url=http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/WizHistory_010806.html |publisher=Washington Wizards |access-date=2008-03-19}}</ref> In 1963 they moved to [[Baltimore]] and took the name Bullets. (Today they are known as the [[Washington Wizards]]). The NBA would return to Chicago with the [[Chicago Bulls|Bulls]] expansion team in 1966, but the Bulls opted to use the [[International Amphitheatre]] and then [[Chicago Stadium]] as their home courts, so the Coliseum remained without a major tenant.<ref>When the expansion team unexpectedly qualified for the NBA playoffs the International Amphitheater was unavailable, so the Bulls played their lone home playoff game at the Chicago Colisuem. Ref: Logan, Robert, "Bulls, Hawks Duel Tonight" ''Chicago Daily Tribune''; Mar 23, 1967; s. 3, p. 1.</ref> The Bulls now play at the [[United Center]]. ===The Syndrome=== During the 1960s and early 1970s, many popular bands of the era played The Coliseum, including [[Cream (band)|Cream]] (twice in 1968), [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]], [[The Jimi Hendrix Experience]] (December 1, 1968),<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Jimi Hendrix Experience Setlist at Chicago Coliseum, Chicago|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-jimi-hendrix-experience/1968/chicago-coliseum-chicago-il-7bd49e28.html|access-date=2021-08-29|website=setlist.fm|language=en}}</ref> [[The Doors]] (November 3, 1968)<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Doors Setlist at Chicago Coliseum, Chicago|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-doors/1968/chicago-coliseum-chicago-il-7bde8ae4.html|access-date=2021-08-29|website=setlist.fm|language=en}}</ref> or [[B.B. King]] (May 16, 1970).<ref>{{Cite web|title=B.B. King Setlist at Chicago Coliseum, Chicago|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bb-king/1970/chicago-coliseum-chicago-il-6be572a6.html|access-date=2021-08-29|website=setlist.fm|language=en}}</ref> 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 (band)|Humble Pie]], Brethren, Chase, and the headline act, [[Grand Funk Railroad]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Syndrome Is On Its Way as New Rock Palace| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1970/10/19/page/51/article/syndrome-is-on-its-way-as-new-rock-palace| last=Van Matre| first=Lynn| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| date=October 19, 1970| access-date=2016-02-03}}</ref> Other bands that played The Syndrome included Rod Stewart and the Faces, [[The Grateful Dead]], [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]], [[New Riders of the Purple Sage]], [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]], [[Ten Years After]], [[Fleetwood Mac]], [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[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 β 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 [sic] the 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."<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| date=March 9, 1971| access-date=2016-02-03| title=Disorders at 2 T.V. Sites| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/03/09/page/35/article/disorders-at-2-t-v-sites| last=Milbert| first=Neil| page=1, Section 3}}</ref> As a result of the damage, all scheduled concerts were cancelled with the exception of March 12, 1971, featuring [[James Taylor]] and [[Carole King]]. 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.<ref name="Thomas">{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=John C. |title=Star-Crossed: The Colorful History of the Chicago Coliseum |url=https://owlcation.com/humanities/Star-Crossed-The-Colorful-History-of-the-Chicago-Coliseum |website=owlcation.com}}</ref> Part of the Libby facade was given to the [[Chicago History Museum]]. 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<ref>{{cite web| title=Haven School| url=https://chicagohistoricschools.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/haven-school/| publisher=Chicago Historic Schools| date=June 6, 2014}}</ref> at 14th Place and Wabash Avenue, commemorates the Coliseum.
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