Misplaced Pages

Chicago Coliseum

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

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.

#540459

72-465: The first Coliseum stood at State and Washington streets in Chicago's downtown in the late 1860s. The second venue was located at 63rd Street near Stony Island Avenue in the south side's 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), and several early indoor American football games. After hosting

144-489: A building from being constructed on parkland. Gunther served two terms (1896–1900) as a Chicago alderman and one term (1901–1903) as City Treasurer of Chicago . He was briefly a Gold Democrat and supported John McAuley Palmer for president in 1896. In 1908, Gunther sought the (regular) Democratic Party 's nomination as an Illinois gubernatorial candidate, but lost to Adlai E. Stevenson I . After Gunther's death at his home in Chicago on February 10, 1920,

216-752: 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 1929–30 season opened, but negotiations with the Stadium resumed in

288-532: A fortune, and began purchasing historical artifacts to display in his factory. Many of these were artifacts from the Civil War, but there were also more unusual items in his collection, such as shrunken heads . Gunther even claimed to own the skin of the serpent from the Garden of Eden and the mummy of Moses ' foster mother, Bithiah (both assumed to be fakes). One of Gunther's most important authentic items

360-514: A green space of low valleys, the Plaisance is widely known as the site of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair , in which the green space was to be designated as the Fair location (but was never utilized). The Plaisance is now a well-maintained walking and bike riding thoroughfare amidst the university's campuses. Between 60th and 61st Streets (with Stony Island Avenue to the east and Cottage Grove Avenue to

432-432: 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 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

504-596: A large land owner with vested interest in the character of the neighborhood, fought through many avenues against what it saw as the encroachment of blight. As Arnold Hirsch argues in his chapter "Neighborhood on a hill" in Making the Second Ghetto , the university, through the SECC and, at times, with brute force, made Hyde Park the site of one of the first "urban renewal" projects in the country. In an attempt to maintain

576-588: A large portion of Jackson Park , including the site of the under-construction Barack Obama Presidential Center . The neighborhood is also home to a number of educational institutions: Hyde Park Career Academy , Mount Carmel High School , Chicago Theological Seminary , and the southern portion of the campus of the University of Chicago —including the Law School , the Harris School of Public Policy ,

648-544: 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

720-580: 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 . It hosted five consecutive Republican National Conventions , ( 1904 , 1908 , 1912 , 1916 , 1920 ) and the Progressive Party National Convention in 1912 and 1916 . It also hosted the Lincoln Jubilee in 1915. In

792-505: A small gang of neighborhood kids centered near 66th and Blackstone called the Blackstone Rangers . By the mid-1960s, Fort and Hairston had pulled together twenty-one other local street gangs, thus becoming the dominant gang on Chicago's South Side, engaging in numerous criminal activities while maintaining a political activist facade. For example, in 1966, in the midst of a violent drive to consolidate power and intimidate rivals,

SECTION 10

#1732773360541

864-478: A vocal advocate for affordable housing for low-moderate income residents and especially seniors. That stance has on occasion brought the organization into conflict with other groups in Woodlawn, particularly TWO, who have pushed for new development at what WECAN sees as the expense of current residents. WECAN led the opposition to the teardown of the 63rd Street CTA elevated line, a battle it lost. Woodlawn has one of

936-465: Is about 95% African-American, while East Woodlawn is significantly more diverse. The median household income in the neighborhood is $ 32,189, with 31.17% of residents living below the poverty line. Up until 1948, Woodlawn was a middle class, white neighborhood, which grew out of the floods of workers and commerce from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition . During the first half of the century, many University of Chicago professors lived in Woodlawn. With

1008-416: Is one of the city's 77 municipally recognized community areas . It is bounded by the lake to the east, 60th Street to the north, King Drive to the west, and 67th Street to the south, save for a small tract that lies south of 67th Street between Cottage Grove Avenue and South Chicago Avenue. Local sources sometimes divide the neighborhood along Cottage Grove into "East" and "West Woodlawn." Woodlawn contains

1080-539: The 63rd Street Beach with its magnificent beach house. It is within Chicago Public Schools . Emmett Till Math & Science Academy is in Woodlawn. Emmett Till, its namesake, was an alumnus of the school when it was called James McCosh Elementary School; in that period all of its students were African-American. It was given its current name in 2006. Charles F. Gunther Charles Frederick Gunther (March 6, 1837 – February 10, 1920)

1152-559: The American Civil War broke out, Gunther pledged to "stick by Memphis", and helped transport Confederate soldiers along the tributaries of the Mississippi River . He was captured by Union troops in 1862, but was released and traveled back to Illinois. During the later years of the war, he worked as a traveling salesman for a Chicago candy manufacturer, mainly selling goods throughout the southern states. After

1224-545: The First Presbyterian Church (6400 South Kimbark Avenue) integrated in 1954 and, by the 1960s, had a markedly mixed character. However, older members often felt put out by the demographic and "cultural" changes that came with integration, and by the mid-1960s, the Church's finances and membership rates were in trouble. For better or for worse, there had been an across the board change in the community. By

1296-630: 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 . 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 1926–1929 with a seating capacity of 6,000. It

1368-464: The School of Social Service Administration , and the University of Chicago Press . Present-day Woodlawn is a predominantly African-American neighborhood. Per 2020 U.S. census data, the neighborhood's racial makeup is 79.8% Black, 10.1% white, 3.6% Asian, and 3.1% Hispanic, with an additional 3.1% belonging to two or more races. There are demographic differences within Woodlawn, however: West Woodlawn

1440-470: The Supreme Court ruling outlawing racially restrictive covenants in 1948, the combination of the expanding African American urban population, their limited housing options, and exploitive real estate maneuvers that divided up apartments into kitchenettes , Woodlawn began to have its first African American residents. Cayton and Drake described the anxieties and clashes that took place at the edge of

1512-598: The Woodlawn neighborhood on the city's south side, had a difficult history. Initial construction began early in 1895 on a 14-acre (57,000 m) site of the World's Columbian Exposition , but on August 22, the incomplete structure collapsed, and builders had to start over. Construction of the 300-by-700-foot (91 by 213 m) building entailed the use of 2.5 million pounds (1,100,000 kg) of steel, 3.2 million feet (980,000 m) of lumber, and 3 million bricks, and

SECTION 20

#1732773360541

1584-473: The 1920s, it became a popular professional ice hockey venue, and hosted the worlds first roller derby , during the Great Depression . 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

1656-520: The Alliance at that time were displeased with Alinsky's brashness and controversial direct tactics. In the initial years, when TWO was still under the IAF umbrella, Nicholas Von Hoffman , Alinsky's second in command, planned most of the actions. After the university's plans were known, several prominent churches gave the seed money for the organization, which began in 1961. TWO, like other IAF organizations,

1728-751: 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,

1800-584: The Chicago Historical Society paid $ 150,000 for the bulk of Gunther's collection, which by that point also included the table on which Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House . Shortly afterwards, the society began building a $ 1 million museum to display its expanded collection. The building opened in 1932 at Clark Street and North Avenue , and is currently known as the Chicago History Museum . One of

1872-646: 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

1944-606: The Chicago area. The Woodlawn Organization coalesced around the perception that the university would pursue a land use policy in Woodlawn as it did in Hyde Park, and it has its roots in the pastors' Alliance of Woodlawn. Several years earlier, the Alliance had called in Saul Alinsky , founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation , to discuss plans to organize the community. But several major members of

2016-500: The Civil War, Gunther traveled to Europe to learn from the candymakers there. He started his own candy company in Chicago in 1868, specializing in caramel , which he is sometimes credited with introducing to the United States. Gunther's business was destroyed in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire , but he quickly recovered and built a new factory on State Street . With wealthy customers like socialite Bertha Palmer , Gunther amassed

2088-520: The Coliseum hosted the notorious First Ward Ball , 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 was finally successful in halting the Ball in 1909. From 1904 through 1920, this Coliseum hosted five consecutive Republican National Conventions , and

2160-579: 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,

2232-715: The Rangers provided security as Dr. Martin Luther King and the Congress On Racial Equality marched through hostile white neighborhoods like Cicero and Marquette Park. Under the influence of both the Black Nationalist movement and the nonviolent civil rights movement, they changed their name to "The Black Peace Stone Nation". During the riots in the aftermath of Dr. King's assassination, the "Stones" were credited with preserving and protecting

Chicago Coliseum - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-584: The West Side after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. mainly because of the works of the Black P. Stone Nation in 1968. Nevertheless, most business owners fled. A rash of arsons destroyed a reported 362 abandoned buildings between 1968 and 1971. In Hyde Park to the north, similar demographic and racial changes began in the 1950s but with radically different results. The University of Chicago,

2376-420: The Woodlawn neighborhood (albeit through extortion and intimidation), which saw minimal disturbance in contrast with neighborhoods like Garfield Park and the West Side. Over time, the ties with the nonviolence movement faded as the gang's name was altered to "Black P. Stone Nation" Hairston's incarceration led Jeff Fort to take sole leadership of the gang, which by then stretched across numerous neighborhoods of

2448-660: The arena. The event drew more than 20,000 people. 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 Packers changed their name to the Zephyrs and moved into the Coliseum in 1962. In 1963 they moved to Baltimore and took

2520-605: 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. Candy manufacturer Charles F. Gunther built the third Coliseum at 1513 South Wabash Avenue in 1899. He purchased Libby Prison , a structure in Richmond, Virginia, constructed as a warehouse which became a Confederate prison during the Civil War . Gunther had it dismantled, shipped to Chicago on 132 railroad cars, and rebuilt in 1889 as

2592-601: The city and boasted as many as 50,000 members. During this time, the Stones became more political and more involved in community power structure. It even received funding from the US Office Of Economic Opportunity to run a job-training program in Woodlawn, the pilfering of which led Fort to another prison sentence. While jailed, Fort was influenced by the Nation of Islam and upon his release renamed

2664-492: The decaying Shoreland Hotel , the University of Chicago constructed a new residence hall on the corner of 61st St. and Ellis, designed with input from residents of both Hyde Park and Woodlawn so as to minimize possible alienation of the neighboring community. Jackson Park is a 500-acre (2 km ) park on Lake Michigan in the neighborhoods of Woodlawn, Hyde Park , and bordering South Shore . The land for Jackson Park

2736-464: The early 1960s, Woodlawn was a predominantly African-American neighborhood with a population of over 80,000 people. 63rd Street was one of the busiest streets on the South Side and was famous for its jazz clubs. Despite its bustle, Woodlawn was an economically deteriorating community, and attempts to revive its citizenry were short-lived and fractured. The community escaped the riots that devastated

2808-460: The early 1990s. The Coliseum is commemorated in a public park named in its honor, across from its last site. 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, in

2880-426: The era played The Coliseum, including Cream (twice in 1968), Jethro Tull , The Jimi Hendrix Experience (December 1, 1968), The Doors (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

2952-421: 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

Chicago Coliseum - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-573: 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 , 2–1, in their final game on Coliseum ice. Canadiens superstar Howie Morenz

3096-510: The former Haven School at 14th Place and Wabash Avenue, commemorates the Coliseum. 41°51′43″N 87°37′30″W  /  41.86194°N 87.62500°W  / 41.86194; -87.62500 Woodlawn, Chicago Woodlawn is a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois , located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of the Loop . It

3168-747: The gang again, to the El Rukn Tribe Of The Moorish Science Temple of America, usually shortened to "El Rukn" which means "The Foundation" in Arabic . The gang, whose home territory is in between the "-Stone streets" of Blackstone Avenue and Stony Island Avenue , are still a very strong force in the Woodlawn community. The area between 59th and 60th Streets is known as the Midway Plaisance , incorporating Midway Plaisance North (south of 59th Street) and Midway Plaisance South, north of 60th Street. Now dominated by

3240-620: The ghetto in Black Metropolis . The play A Raisin in the Sun is based on the experiences of author Lorraine Hansberry and her family, who were among the first to move in. Like other communities bordering the ghetto, Woodlawn experienced intense bouts of white flight when the first African Americans moved into the neighborhood (especially the Washington Park Subdivision ). Many institutions and people moved to

3312-551: The headline act, Grand Funk Railroad . Other bands that played The Syndrome included Rod Stewart and the Faces, The Grateful Dead , Steppenwolf , New Riders of the Purple Sage , Traffic , Ten Years After , Fleetwood Mac , 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

3384-576: The highest foreclosure rates in the city and is particularly affected by foreclosures of apartment buildings and condominium conversions. WECAN sits on the New Communities Program Executive Steering Committee, operates 132 units of affordable housing, and operates supportive services, after school programs and its Housing Resource Center. Project Brotherhood is a health clinic focused on using community outreach and preventive education to meet

3456-535: The last convention of the radical antiwar organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in June 1969. 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

3528-682: The most prominent of these organizations is Woodlawn East Community And Neighbors Inc. (WECAN) founded by Mattie C. Butler, a 40-year Woodlawn resident and sister of Hall of Fame R&B singer/current Cook County Commissioner Jerry Butler . Butler founded WECAN in October 1980 after watching 13 children die in an arson fire in a building next door to her home. WECAN quickly became a neighborhood and citywide advocate for rescuing at-risk and abandoned buildings, preserving an estimated 5000 units of housing in Woodlawn since its founding. Many of its programs - Abandoned Property Program, Vintage Homes For Chicago, Step-Up Housing - have become citywide models. WECAN

3600-713: The name Bullets. (Today they are known as the Washington Wizards ). The NBA would return to Chicago with the 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. The Bulls now play at the United Center . During the 1960s and early 1970s, many popular bands of

3672-537: The nearly completed station and the tracks east of the Cottage Grove terminal and forfeit millions of dollars in federal funds in 1996. As TWO moved to consolidate its position as the Voice of Woodlawn, other community organizations arose to deal with specific issues of housing and community empowerment, such as the arson fires that destroyed hundreds of buildings in Woodlawn in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Perhaps

SECTION 50

#1732773360541

3744-547: The needs and improve the health of African American men in the Woodlawn area. The clinic is operated by a combination of staff, volunteers, and interns and hosts a variety of free services for members of the community. In the CNN documentary " Black in America 2", Project Brotherhood was presented as one of America's pioneers in terms of African American health. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jeff Fort and Eugene Hairston ran

3816-428: The number of white families, the university tore down "slum" areas, often employing eminent domain powers. In the process, many African Americans were displaced from Hyde Park, and cultural centers like 55th Street were leveled. After their success in Hyde Park, the university moved quickly to begin a second urban renewal project in Woodlawn. A one mile wide area from 60th to 61st in Woodlawn was scheduled for renewal and

3888-537: The organization to take on large outside entities like the university and the city (i.e. Mayor Daley). The group took part in the flurry of activity surrounding the Freedom Rides and the Civil Rights Movement by loading up over 40 buses of people from Woodlawn and riding to City Hall to register to vote. They also rallied against slum landlords and cheating business owners. TWO also took action on

3960-447: The original Chicago Coliseum burned down in 1897, Gunther decided to build a new Coliseum on the site of the Libby Prison, since attendance at the museum was beginning to wane. The prison building was disassembled, and parts of it were donated to the Chicago Historical Society . Gunther offered the rest of his collection to the city, with the hope that the city would build a museum for it in Garfield Park , but Illinois law prevented such

4032-409: The presidency William Jennings Bryan ; 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: The Carlisle games represented the first time

4104-415: The prison was converted into the Lincoln Room, in which Gunther displayed Lincoln's deathbed, along with other artifacts associated with Lincoln's assassination. Gunther later tried to purchase an Egyptian pyramid and Philadelphia 's Independence Hall so he could bring them to Chicago, but he was unsuccessful. During the 1890s, Gunther became involved with Chicago's growing convention industry. When

4176-483: The suburbs, a process that was facilitated by new federal housing loans. This combination of white flight from large apartments and high housing demand of the incoming African American population often proved lucrative for realtors, who routinely subdivided the vacated apartments. From this, buildings were over-filled with families. Absentee landlords seldom did much to maintain the buildings. Others attempted to integrate this area but met with limited success. For example,

4248-408: The university and were able to gain a seat on the City planning board (which stopped the university's plans ). TWO faced continually worsening conditions in the neighborhood, and there are many arguments about its efficacy. Especially controversial was Brazier's opposition to a planned and nearly completed Green Line extension to Dorchester , which forced the Chicago Transit Authority to tear down

4320-410: The university's planned South Campus. The plans were drawn, there was a press conference, and the campus was eventually constructed. At one time, the University of Chicago Law School raised more than $ 10,000 each year for charitable support for the children of Woodlawn. In 1999, however, it eliminated that support and shifted the funding to student scholarships for public interest jobs primarily outside

4392-593: The west) are several of the university's South Campus buildings including: University of Chicago Press, the law quadrangle and law library , the School of Social Service Administration , the Harris School of Public Policy Studies , the National Opinion Research Center , the Center for Research Libraries, Chapin Hall, and Granville-Grossman Residential Commons. Some of the university's faculty and several hundred of its graduate and undergraduate students live south of 60th Street in University-owned real estate and dormitories, as well as in privately owned residences. To replace

SECTION 60

#1732773360541

4464-503: Was Abraham Lincoln 's deathbed, which he purchased in 1877. Gunther's collection continued to grow, and he eventually turned his sights to the Libby Prison , a former Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia . Gunther purchased the structure and had it dismantled and shipped to Chicago, where it was reassembled and converted into a museum to house Gunther's artifacts. It opened to the public in 1889 and hosted thousands of visitors within its first few months of existence. The infirmary of

4536-471: Was a German-American wealthy confectioner , politician, and collector. He purchased many of the items now owned by the Chicago History Museum . He served two terms as a Chicago alderman from the city's 2nd ward. Gunther and his family moved from Württemberg to Pennsylvania in 1842, then resettled in Peru, Illinois . In 1860, Gunther traveled south and landed a job with Bohlen, Wilson & Company , an ice distributor based in Memphis, Tennessee . When

4608-406: Was a coalition of existing community entities such as churches, business and civic associations. These member groups paid dues, and the organization was run by an elected board. The TWO moved quickly to establish itself as the "voice" of Woodlawn, mobilizing existing leadership and bringing up new leadership. A prime example of the newly empowered leadership in TWO was Reverend Arthur M. Brazier , who

4680-408: Was a founding member of the citywide Chicago Rehab Network of community developers. The organization and its founder, Mattie C. Butler, have been honored with local and national awards including the 1989 Petra Foundation Award and the 2008 Community Empowerment Advocate of the Year Award. As the focus of development in Woodlawn has shifted toward new construction and condo conversion, WECAN is seen as

4752-463: Was also the home of the Chicago Cardinals (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 , 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

4824-451: 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, 100 feet (30 m) high with a span of 230 feet (70 m). The facility housed 7 acres (2.8 ha) 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

4896-417: Was set aside in the 1870s. The area was originally a "rough, tangled stretch of bog and dune" until it was transformed by Frederick Law Olmsted , the architect of New York City 's Central Park . The park is connected by the Midway Plaisance to Washington Park on Woodlawn's North end. Jackson Park was the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition . For this event, hundreds of acres of undeveloped park

4968-405: 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 . The site is now occupied by the Soka Gakkai USA Culture Center. Coliseum Park, located across Wabash Avenue on the site of

5040-414: Was the first spokesperson and eventual president. Brazier started out as a mail carrier, became a preacher in a store front church, and then, through TWO, burgeoned into a national spokesman for the black power movement. Brazier became a very powerful pastor in Chicago. As Fish argues in Black Power/White Control TWO picked issues that mobilized resident participation, and at the same time built power for

5112-555: 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. 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 ; circuses meetings of Black Muslims; Black Panthers and

5184-577: Was turned into the spectacular, but temporary, Beaux-Arts "White City." A small number of structures built for or used during the fair still remain in the park. Attractions inside Jackson Park include Osaka Garden, the Jackson Park Golf Course, Jackson Park Harbor, Wooded Isle, the gilded Daniel Chester French statue Republic (a replica of a much larger statue built for the Columbian Exposition), several lagoons, and

#540459