View source for Chicago Coliseum

{{short description|Arena in Illinois, United States}}
{{about|the indoor arenas in Chicago|the theatre in Chicago known as the Coliseum|Grand Opera House (Chicago)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
[[File:ColiseumChicagoGeoRLawrenceExterior.jpg|thumb|300px|Exterior of the third Chicago Coliseum]]
[[File:Chicago Coliseum.jpg|thumb|300px|The third Chicago Coliseum during the 1904 RNC]]

'''Chicago Coliseum''' was the name applied to three large indoor arenas, which stood at various times in [[Chicago, Illinois]], from the 1860s to 1982. They served as venues for large national conventions, exhibition halls,  sports events, and entertainment.

The first Coliseum stood at State and Washington streets in Chicago's downtown in the late 1860s.<ref name=Pruter>{{cite journal| first=Robert| last=Pruter| title=Chicago's Other Coliseum| journal=Chicago History Magazine| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267025820| date=Spring 2012| pages=44–65}}</ref> The second venue was located at 63rd Street near Stony Island Avenue in the south side's [[Woodlawn, Chicago|Woodlawn]] community (near the site of the 1893 World's Fair). It hosted the [[1896 Democratic National Convention]] (known for the [[Cross of gold speech|"Cross of Gold"]] speech), and several early [[indoor American football]] games.  After hosting a notable convention for the then new and growing [[bicycle]] industry, it burned a few months later.

The third Chicago Coliseum was located at Wabash Avenue near 15th Street on the [[Near South Side, Chicago|near south side]]. It hosted five consecutive [[Republican National Convention]]s, ([[1904 Republican National Convention|1904]], [[1908 Republican National Convention|1908]], [[1912 Republican National Convention|1912]], [[1916 Republican National Convention|1916]], [[1920 Republican National Convention|1920]]) and the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] National Convention in [[1912 Progressive National Convention|1912]] and [[1916 Progressive National Convention|1916]]. It also hosted the [[Lincoln Jubilee]] in 1915. In the 1920s, it became a popular professional ice hockey venue, and hosted the worlds first [[roller derby]], during the [[Great Depression]]. The [[American Negro Exposition]] was hosted at the Coliseum in 1940.
In the 1950s to early 1970s, the Coliseum served as a general admission venue for rock concerts, roller derbys, and professional wrestling matches. Generally closed in 1971, it was sold for redevelopment in 1982; however, portions of the building remained standing until the early 1990s.<ref name=demo>{{cite news| title=Coliseum razing gets green light| last=McCarron| first=John| work=[[Chicago Tribune]]| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1981/12/08/page/13/article/coliseum-razing-gets-green-light| date=December 8, 1981| access-date=2016-02-03}}</ref>  The Coliseum is commemorated in a public park named in its honor, across from its last site.

==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.<ref name=Pruter/>

==The second Coliseum==
[[File:Chicago Coliseum (Officialproceedi1896demo 0020) (cropped).jpg|thumb|300px|The second Coliseum]]
[[File:1896 DNC (1).jpg|thumb|300px|[[1896 Democratic National Convention]]]]
The second Coliseum, in the [[Woodlawn, Chicago|Woodlawn]] neighborhood on the city's south side, had a difficult history. Initial construction began early in 1895 on a {{convert|14|acre|m2|adj=on}} site of the [[World's Columbian Exposition]], but on August 22, the incomplete structure collapsed, and builders had to start over.<ref name=collapse>{{cite news| title=Collapse Not Fatal| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1895/08/23/page/3/article/collapse-not-fatal| work=Chicago Tribune| date=August 23, 1895| page=3}}</ref> Construction of the {{convert|300|by|700|ft|adj=on}} building entailed the use of {{convert|2.5|e6lb|kg}} of steel, {{convert|3.2|e6ft}} 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]]; its interior was supported by 12 massive arches, {{convert|100|ft}} high with a span of {{convert|230|ft}}. The facility housed {{convert|7|acre}} 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]]; he famously electrified the crowd with his historic [[Cross of Gold speech|"Cross of Gold" speech]]. In October 1896 the Coliseum hosted the [[Barnum and Bailey Circus]], the largest three-ring circus in the country.<ref name=Pruter/>

College football teams immediately saw the feasibility of playing indoor games in the Coliseum, and four big games took place:

* [[Michigan Wolverines football|University of Michigan]] vs. [[Chicago Maroons football|University of Chicago]], Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1896; won by Chicago, 7–6.
* [[Carlisle Indian Industrial School|Carlisle Indian School]] vs. [[Wisconsin Badgers football|University of Wisconsin]], December 19, 1896; won by Carlisle, 18–8.
* Carlisle Indian School vs. [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|University of Illinois]], 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 man died, a fireman (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.<ref name=Pruter/>

==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]] – 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]] (today the 'Blackhawks') of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) from 1926–1929 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 (1926–42)|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]], with the Black Hawks as the marquee tenants.

As the 1928–29 NHL season approached, the Stadium was not yet ready, and Black Hawks owner Major [[Frederic McLaughlin]] had had a falling-out with Harmon. Consequently, the Black Hawks 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, Michigan]] and in [[Fort Erie, Ontario]], across the [[Niagara River]] from [[Buffalo, New York]].

Although the Stadium was ready, the Black Hawks were back at the Coliseum as the [[1929–30 NHL season|1929–30 season]] opened, unwilling to accept Harmon's terms. Harmon was deposed as president of the Stadium and in December the team began play at the Stadium.

In 1932, another dispute led the Black Hawks to return temporarily to the Coliseum, for their first three home games of the [[1932–33 NHL season|1932–33 season]]. On November 21, the Black Hawks defeated the [[Montreal Canadiens]], 2–1, 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> (also, the 75th anniversary commemoration, the [[American Negro Exposition]] in 1940); 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 Results—1937| 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>
On March 25 1967, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed a 5,000 person rally in his first public speech against the Vietnam War.<ref>{{cite web| title=Dr. King Marches Against the War in Viet Nam in Chicago, March 1967 | url=https://www.jofreeman.com/photos/KingAtChicago.html | last=Freeman| first=Jo | access-date=2025-08-11}}</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> and [[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 – 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.

==Bibliography==

* [[Robert Pruter|Pruter, Robert]]. "Chicago's Other Coliseum." ''Chicago History Magazine.'' Spring 2012, pp.&nbsp;44–65.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/ChicagoBlackhawks/veryoldindex.htm Chicago Coliseum on ballparks.com]
* [http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/986.html Encyclopedia of Chicago entry on political conventions]

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]]
 | years = 1926&ndash;1929
 | before = first arena
 | after = [[Chicago Stadium]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the [[Chicago Zephyrs]]
 | years = 1962&ndash;1963
 | before = [[International Amphitheatre]]
 | after = [[Baltimore Civic Center]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Democratic National Convention venues}}
{{Republican National Convention venues}}
{{Music venues of Illinois}}
{{Chicago Blackhawks}}
{{Washington Wizards}}
{{Former NBA arenas}}
{{Former NHL arenas}}

{{coord|41|51|43|N|87|37|30|W|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:1860s establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:1982 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Basketball venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Boxing venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1982]]
[[Category:Former NBA venues]]
[[Category:Defunct college football venues]]
[[Category:Defunct indoor arenas in Illinois]]
[[Category:Defunct National Hockey League venues]]
[[Category:Defunct sports venues in Illinois]]
[[Category:Demolished sports venues in Illinois]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in Chicago]]
[[Category:Defunct ice hockey venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Indoor arenas in Chicago]]
[[Category:Ice hockey venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:National Basketball League (United States) venues]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Wrestling venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Chicago Blackhawks]]