I was 9 yrs old when the Arena opened. My last and most memorable visit was a Kansas concert in 1979. I never got to see it with the roof open. In the 1980's I moved to Los Angeles, where I enjoyed many concerts at the Universal Amphitheatre, which in the 1970's was open air, but was enclosed by the time I saw it. Great memories!
I must have seen at least 25 concerts at the Civic Arena. Maybe 6 of those opened the dome, mostly in the 70s. My last concert there was Prince in 2004, who played the Arena at least 4 times.
The catch 22 with increased the capacity was to do so required an additional seating section to be added which made the structure unstable to fully open. They never opened past 2 panels after 1975. Even when they filmed "sudden death" they were unable to fully open the roof for the helicopter crash. I live 5 min away, had they opened that roof the whole way in my life I would have been there.
A bigger factor was the hanging lights, not the section F in the end zones itself. Section F was attached to section E, and those both were free standing and not attached to the dome. None of the seating sections were bolted or attached to the roof sections. However, I have been through all those areas and I think one reason (beyond a nightmare of removing the hanging lights) was that it would be a tremendous safety hazard, as the roof panels basically prevented people from falling backwards off the seats. If you open the roof panels past the seats in the end zone, it would be a very dangerous experience for people in those seats. It's hard to explain but I want to make sure it's clear the end zone seats were not touching the roof, they were maybe a foot away from the inside of the roof.)
Well, "they" should have done a better job of balancing the various function of the venue. Opening and closing the dome was more imortant that fitting in a few more seats. If the place was a bit small for the top level basket ball or hockey, then settle for a lower level of play. Again, a true gem was permitted to rot away. I guess they were practicing for letting that bridge carrying Forbes Ave rot away. Shame on them. If you can't maintain nice things, you don't deserve nice things.
I saw a concert there in 1983 when they opened the roof, don't ask me who it was because I saw 4 or 5 concerts that year before I left for the Army at the end of September after graduating from high school,but I remember standing on the floor at the show with the music blaring and watching all the smoke rise up out of the place, it might have been Def Leppard or ZZ Top. Also, it's a little known fact around the Burgh but the first time the roof was opened was when Carol Burnette did a show there some time around 1962. From what I understand the reason that they didn't open the roof that much after a certain point is because whoever was using the venue, sports team, rock act etc etc had to pay something like $5,000 to have it done with the money going towards the maintenance and inspections required after opening it. I don't know when the last time was that it was opened, but I'll bet the concert I saw in 83 when they did it was probably within the last dozen or so times it'd been done because I know as of when it shut down it'd been quite a few years since they'd done it.
@@dukecraig2402 -- Well, $5k is a fair amount of money. A so-so event might only have 5k folks. Is it worth an extra $1/person to have the dome open? If there are problems which make it cost $5k to open and close, perhaps the "city fathers" could publish a RFP (Request for Proposal) to address the problem. I don't know if Westinghouse (the original maker) was still up to it by then but perhaps a civic minded engineering concern would at least take a hard look without charging an arm and a leg.
I moved to Pittsburgh in 1991 for 6th, 7th & 8th grade since my Mom moved there. Having zero knowledge about NHL, I didn't know just how lucky I was to witness the city winning the cup not once but twice during '91-'93. I would go back and visit alot. One of my friends had extra tickets to Summerslam 95 there. Wasn't the best show the WWE put on lol, that came years later with the infamous Hell in a cell with Taker vs. Mankind. They also opened the roof for the Monster truck events. If you had a seat facing the south end (open end) man, was it a heck of a view! Stil miss the Igloo!
I grew up in Pittsburgh and was a kid when the Civic Arena opened. Honestly, I can't say that I ever remember anyone calling it "the Igloo" until well into the late 1990's. It was always the Arena or the Civic Arena. I think the term "igloo" was used more by sports announcers and TV news people than by regular Pittsburghers. I remember the upper tiers of seats being added during the mid-1970's. The roof was opened during the day to allow cranes to lift building materials into the arena.
You are correct, It was the Civic Arena. I have been in there a few times as teen. I would catch a greyhound from Wheeling round trip for like 8 bux. I was a teenager. Saw Deep Purple and Cooper in there. A few more but those were the best. Deep Purple was Awesome.With Ian Gillan singing
Ah, the Igloo. Such fun times there. Student rush was the best! I wish they could have kept it standing in some capacity. Maybe similar to Stage AE for an outdoor event center.
Looks like a "Jiffy Pop" dome. That popcorn you set over a fire or on your stove to pop up and create that shiny dome. Then retract that foil to get all that goodness inside!
I went there twice in the later 60s to watch the Folk Festival. The Festival would start with the dome closed and the finale included opening the dome. Beautiful site and beautiful sight.
And the finale was Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land", the one time that I attended (back when the Gulf Building dominated the skyline with the roof open).
My dad attended the Stones concert at the old Civic Arena. Rumor has it that when they opened the dome, all the weed smoke left the arena all at once, and the whole city of Pittsburgh got high on fumes that night.
@@ITSHISTORY thanks! Btw, my whole family and I really enjoy your Pittsburgh videos. So maybe… just maybe… would you ever consider doing a video on the old P&LE railroad? My dad used to work for them throughout the 70s and 80s… as did several of my relatives. P&LE was like a family, and employed a large portion of the local population. But yeah, just a suggestion. No pressure obviously. But might be really fun to see one day!
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Bet people had flashbacks from when the steel mills were pumping out steel 24/7 and the city looked like 1 of the pics they have up in the Incline station on Mt. Washington! 3pm and street lights on from all the smoke!! Lmao.
@@electro_sykes I agree. All my family is from Pittsburgh. I am from Ohio, but would go visit them at least 1 time a month from the time I was a little guy, but then moved there for middle school. In late 2018 I moved from LA back to Pittsburgh to help family out, and my goodness I couldn't believe how much it had changed. It wasn't the Pittsburgh I had remembered that's for sure. Not many people today realize that if it hadn't been for all those steel mills going non stop, WW2 may have ended differently. Lots of history on that city though... I mean George Washington himself setup shop at the point hence FORT PITT! There's a museum there to this day and also you can still see the outline of Ft. Pitt right outside the museum. IMO the city never recovered from most of the steel industry leaving. I can remember the city in the early 1980's vs. just 6 months ago when I moved back to California. Night and day difference. It's like they just gave up hope.
Well done and thanks for highlighting an iconic, now gone, monument in the city of my birth. I've been there only a few times but always thought it was a landmark befitting a city of so many firsts in the nation.
At 5 in 1965 I saw the Ringling Brothers Circus followed by concerts, wrestling, the Pens, the Pipers/ Condors, Globe Trotters and Car Shows. The acoustics in the Arena were near perfect like sitting inside a speaker cone. The PPG Paints Arena is a box with a plastic bag for a ceiling and the din of sterility. That's it Fort Pitt.
I went to the Civic Arena in the late sixties with a Cub Scout den outing. We went to watch the Penguins, so it must have been 1967 or thereabouts. I don't remember the details, but it was a great time for a young kid! It was the only time I was ever there, unfortunately. I didn't know it was torn down till now. Thanks for the great video!
What an amazing video! I’m a Caps fan so I hate the Pens, but love historical tales of arenas. And yes, that Doors concert was amazing, one of their best live recordings!
I don't remember if it was at the Civic Arena or not, but I can't think of anywhere else it could have been, but I remember my Mum taking my little brother and I to see Sesame Street on Ice when I was around four, maybe five years old, so around '72 or '73. I think we may have seen a Penguins game there too when we were a little older. Even though I only lived in Pittsburgh until I was 12, and even though I haven't been able to get back there for many, many years, Pittsburgh is still home. Everywhere else I've lived since then has only been "Where I live now", but PGH is still home.
Loved going to games back in the 70s with my dad and uncle. South balcony was maybe $7.50. Pens were really terrible then but there were always a lot of fans and the games were fun. Last game I went to not long before it closed my wife right after Crosby started playing for them. Sat in the same balcony which had since been expanded and of course tix cost a lot more.
I saw some historic acts in that building. I would catch a greyhound from Wheeling to Pittsburgh. the bus station was close to the arena. Go see a show and ride the bus back to Wheeling and get home at about 4:30 AM. then go to school in the morning. I was a teenager. I saw Alice Cooper do his Billion Dollar Babies tour in there and also Deep Purple in 73 I believe along with others less notable but still nothing I could see in wheeling back then. We do have an arena now and a thriving theatre so that is good.
Amazing video, love the spotlight on Pittsburgh. I saw the Wiggles Live and the Circus at the igloo when I was little kid, and my first pens game was there. Sad to see it gone but parking at the arena is such a nightmare that I get it.
I think the Ringling Brothers Circus used to perform there annually during the 60s. Sad that it killed a community, Sad too, that the Arena is gone along with the Syria Mosque where I saw several musical groups perform.
Dad worked at Duquesne University so always had free basketball tickets for the Dukes. 🎩 Many Roundball Classics & concerts when I should have been studying. 😀
The eminent domain is par for the course. Particularly when it comes to poorer neighborhoods. In the early 2000s, an old,semi historic neighborhood called Johnson Station was destroyed to make way for the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington texas. What’s so ridiculous is that there was a huge swath of open land in the far north part of Arlington that was perfect for a stadium. Instead, the open land was developed into a “luxury” community called Viridian that average folks can’t afford. Viridian is also right across the street from the city dump. 😂 Anytime someone brags about buying/renting a place at Viridian, we do one of these (🙄) and say pay no attention to those methane pipes sticking out of the ground on that giant hill over there.
@@dblyolk3535 Yea, I really never understood how lucky I was to have seen Judas Priest on their Screaming For Vengeance tour with Iron Maiden opening for them on their Number Of The Beast tour until about 6 years ago when I mentioned it to someone in the comments of a TH-cam video and they just freaked out, after that comments started pouring in from people who were all talking about trading right arms and first born children to be able to say that, I still get a comment every month or so from that same thread with people wanting to know if I still have a concert t-shirt or my ticket stub they express an interest in buying, I actually had both for years but they spun off into the universe at some point. From that concert in 82 to when I graduated high school in 83 and left for the Army at the end if September I saw Def Leppard (and that was back when the drummer had both of his arms), Billy Squire, Krokus, Saga, Zebra, ZZ Top, Quiet Riot, Sammy Hagar and I had a ticket to see AC/DC about two weeks before I left for the Army but about a week before the show is when they had problems with that douchenugget Phil Rudd and they postponed the show indefinitely so I never did get to see them, all those shows I saw at the Civic Arena along with Twisted Sister and Ronnie James Dio on two separate occasions when I'd come home on leave, I can't remember who opened for Twisted Sister but I'm pretty sure Gary Moore opened for Dio when I saw him there, after I got out of the Army I saw the Rolling Stones there. Lots of memories from the Igloo including one of the concerts in 83 when they opened the roof but I can't remember exactly which one it was.
@@dukecraig2402 That’s cool man, all those legendary bands in their prime you are definitely super lucky. I wasn’t born till 83 so I missed out on all that. I did see Pantera at the civic arena in 99 tho that was a show that I’ll never forget. Everything goes full circle I guess bc I’ll be at the PPG paints arena tonight for the Penguins game.
@@dblyolk3535 Along with a couple hockey games in the 90's I also saw The Harlem Globetrotters there back in the 70's during their heyday when Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Joe still played with them, man the trick shots they pulled off was something to see. I think the last concert I saw there was U2 on their Actung Baby tour, I've had a lot of memories in that place and seeing it go down was a real tear jerker, but time and progress march on and there's nothing you can do except give the future over to the young. Enjoy your show.
Good story, my friend. In the 70s, tennis was big, I was a teen, I played and we had World Team Tennis, the "PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES " with my favorite player, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, play at the Civic. The court was multicolored. Be well.
What I loved about Mellon were the front row of the upper seats at the corners. They were like these cantilevered sections of seats that allowed you to see everything.
I’ve seen a couple circuses there when I was a kid. Through my teenage years I seen many many concerts. I even remember when they had monster truck jam there several times. I remember when Brian Adams had a concert there. Then after the concert we went to a local bar and he was sitting in the bar performing for the bar patrons.
Man I saw so many concerts there in the 80's and 90's, I also saw The Harlem Globetrotters there in the 70's. Lots of memories, it was a sad one when they tore it down but hey, time and progress march on, nothing can stop them.
It's actually crazy. I have friends who lived in Pittsburgh and always told me about the igloo. I was like what until you post this and I was like oh right now I remember and I'm a hockey fan who was from Toronto who had an arena literally named after the team itself which was Maple leaf's garden which is still around the day that isn't so popular
You forgot about the best movie “Threat Level: Midnight” was also filmed there, when Golden Face was going to blow up the Stanley Cup, but agent Michael Scarn stopped him!
The most memorable event I attended at the arena was the first start for Marc-Andre Fleury. I had an opportunity to attend game 6 of the 2009 cup finals but had to work.
Another movie filmed at the Civic Arena--and making use of the retractable roof--was "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," about a fictitious basketball team. Not mentioned in the video was the ABA's Pittsburgh Pipers.
The cast and filming crew of sudden death put there names on a beam it was rediscovered before they tore the place down. It floats on the internet there and there just have to look for it. Many times I was at this place from penguins games, monster trucks, concerts, circuses, many other things too.
I have a pair of seats at my house that I purchased when they demolished it. Despite spending the majority of your video trying to paint the Civic arena in a negative light, people loved it. Any urban development project is going to bring some pain, but eventually the old has to give way for the new. Progress can be hard sometimes, but the arena proved to be a great thing for the city.
We had season tickets to the Pens for several years in the early '70s (my dad's company bought them to give to clients, and we went to all that were un-gifted, which was a lot of them). I don't remember even ONCE hearing the Civic Arena referred to as the "igloo" until probably the 1980s. I'd love to see even one verifiable reference of the Civic Arena as "the igloo" in its early years. Not saying it never happened, only that it wasn't something I ever heard said by anyone.
This was really interesting to me because I'm from PA, but the other half that is like a completely different state. I don't know if you've done one on the Reading Terminal in Philly, Baldwin locomotive works, the Reading Outer Station, or other places in SEPA lost to time. I had no idea there was so much history in this area, like the events that occurred in nineteen ninety eight when the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
Pittsburgh sports facilities have always been the target for terrorism. The Vice President being held hostage at the igloo in the 90s. Then that Bane guy totally messed up the field at Heinz Field in 2008.
I can't believe they kept playing there after a helicopter crashed through the retractable roof during game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. I'm just grateful that former minor hockey goalie/local fireman Darren McCord was there to save the VP
Got to see Jay-z here in 2010(?) first time in Pittsburgh and it was a great introduction to a new city. I the feeling reminded me of the Aud in Buffalo before they tore it down
@@foxinurbox Yeah, maybe Usher? There was a female opener too , I can’t remember, that was back in my blunt days lol 😂 It was a snowy school night my senior year of High School and I took the bus with a good friend. She had to sneak out, lol. I had permission, I was pretty responsible and my mom was reasonable. I saw him along with 50 and Missy Elliot out at Starlake Amphitheater years later. (Now Post Gazette Pavilion). I’ve been to so many concerts, I really love it, and my taste is super eclectic. First concert ever at the Civic Arena was Bush and No Doubt. That was awesome too 🤘🏽😎
The designer of this arena Edgar J. Kaufmann commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 to build his weekend house Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA. After doing some research Mr. Kaufmann passed away in 1955. So if this arena opened in 1961 I'm curious when he actually designed it.
I remember when my mother told me they wanted to tear down our pittsburgh neighborhood in the late 90s- early 2000s to make way for a highway, but they got the boot.
As of 8/1/2024 , Pittsburgh wants to build a Concert hall where the Civic Arena once stood . They should have thought about this before tearing it down . It was a Pittsburgh Icon . The 3 Rivers Stadium was torn down and was not even paid for yet ! Go Figure .
The Cuvic Arena was only designed to hold 12,000 fans. The Section E terraces were a clever way to bump up actual capacity to 15,000, but the concourses were too small for that size of crowd. Further expansion exacerbated the problem. It’s sad that an iconic arena had to come down, but it was not up to modern standards even with the last expansion; sheer crowd size doesn’t make a big-league edifice.
Pretty sure the dome was aluminum...ill have to find the Christmas ornament I got that was made from the roof panels. If I remember correctly they had trouble stamping them because they were aluminum and the proof on the back would show threw on the front
The biggest difference between the new and old arena are the ticket costs. The civic arena was accessible by men of basic means, and the new arena isn't. I saw a few penguin games and many concerts there.
Great 👍 video!! Which modern stadiums have retractable roofs? Seems odd that in 2023 Taylor Swift did a show in pouring rain and extreme heat 🥵 in Brazil! 🤷♀️
I was 9 yrs old when the Arena opened. My last and most memorable visit was a Kansas concert in 1979. I never got to see it with the roof open. In the 1980's I moved to Los Angeles, where I enjoyed many concerts at the Universal Amphitheatre, which in the 1970's was open air, but was enclosed by the time I saw it. Great memories!
I must have seen at least 25 concerts at the Civic Arena. Maybe 6 of those opened the dome, mostly in the 70s. My last concert there was Prince in 2004, who played the Arena at least 4 times.
The catch 22 with increased the capacity was to do so required an additional seating section to be added which made the structure unstable to fully open. They never opened past 2 panels after 1975. Even when they filmed "sudden death" they were unable to fully open the roof for the helicopter crash. I live 5 min away, had they opened that roof the whole way in my life I would have been there.
Thanks for sharing an answer to the title that the video maker did not.
A bigger factor was the hanging lights, not the section F in the end zones itself. Section F was attached to section E, and those both were free standing and not attached to the dome. None of the seating sections were bolted or attached to the roof sections. However, I have been through all those areas and I think one reason (beyond a nightmare of removing the hanging lights) was that it would be a tremendous safety hazard, as the roof panels basically prevented people from falling backwards off the seats. If you open the roof panels past the seats in the end zone, it would be a very dangerous experience for people in those seats. It's hard to explain but I want to make sure it's clear the end zone seats were not touching the roof, they were maybe a foot away from the inside of the roof.)
Well, "they" should have done a better job of balancing the various function of the venue. Opening and closing the dome was more imortant that fitting in a few more seats. If the place was a bit small for the top level basket ball or hockey, then settle for a lower level of play. Again, a true gem was permitted to rot away. I guess they were practicing for letting that bridge carrying Forbes Ave rot away. Shame on them.
If you can't maintain nice things, you don't deserve nice things.
I saw a concert there in 1983 when they opened the roof, don't ask me who it was because I saw 4 or 5 concerts that year before I left for the Army at the end of September after graduating from high school,but I remember standing on the floor at the show with the music blaring and watching all the smoke rise up out of the place, it might have been Def Leppard or ZZ Top.
Also, it's a little known fact around the Burgh but the first time the roof was opened was when Carol Burnette did a show there some time around 1962.
From what I understand the reason that they didn't open the roof that much after a certain point is because whoever was using the venue, sports team, rock act etc etc had to pay something like $5,000 to have it done with the money going towards the maintenance and inspections required after opening it.
I don't know when the last time was that it was opened, but I'll bet the concert I saw in 83 when they did it was probably within the last dozen or so times it'd been done because I know as of when it shut down it'd been quite a few years since they'd done it.
@@dukecraig2402 -- Well, $5k is a fair amount of money. A so-so event might only have 5k folks. Is it worth an extra $1/person to have the dome open?
If there are problems which make it cost $5k to open and close, perhaps the "city fathers" could publish a RFP (Request for Proposal) to address the problem. I don't know if Westinghouse (the original maker) was still up to it by then but perhaps a civic minded engineering concern would at least take a hard look without charging an arm and a leg.
The biggest tragedy was the destruction of Wylie Ave & the lower hill. All that jazz culture wiped away.
Yes that is really sad 😔
I moved to Pittsburgh in 1991 for 6th, 7th & 8th grade since my Mom moved there. Having zero knowledge about NHL, I didn't know just how lucky I was to witness the city winning the cup not once but twice during '91-'93. I would go back and visit alot. One of my friends had extra tickets to Summerslam 95 there. Wasn't the best show the WWE put on lol, that came years later with the infamous Hell in a cell with Taker vs. Mankind. They also opened the roof for the Monster truck events. If you had a seat facing the south end (open end) man, was it a heck of a view! Stil miss the Igloo!
I grew up in Pittsburgh and was a kid when the Civic Arena opened. Honestly, I can't say that I ever remember anyone calling it "the Igloo" until well into the late 1990's. It was always the Arena or the Civic Arena. I think the term "igloo" was used more by sports announcers and TV news people than by regular Pittsburghers.
I remember the upper tiers of seats being added during the mid-1970's. The roof was opened during the day to allow cranes to lift building materials into the arena.
You are correct, It was the Civic Arena. I have been in there a few times as teen. I would catch a greyhound from Wheeling round trip for like 8 bux. I was a teenager. Saw Deep Purple and Cooper in there. A few more but those were the best. Deep Purple was Awesome.With Ian Gillan singing
Ah, the Igloo. Such fun times there. Student rush was the best! I wish they could have kept it standing in some capacity. Maybe similar to Stage AE for an outdoor event center.
Good to see you covering arenas and the Igloo is one of the most iconic out of them all.
Looks like a "Jiffy Pop" dome. That popcorn you set over a fire or on your stove to pop up and create that shiny dome. Then retract that foil to get all that goodness inside!
I'm glad you do a lot of history on Pittsburgh. I have lived there all my life and love seeing your vids!!!
Glad you like them!
@@ITSHISTORY thank bro!
I went there twice in the later 60s to watch the Folk Festival. The Festival would start with the dome closed and the finale included opening the dome. Beautiful site and beautiful sight.
And the finale was Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land", the one time that I attended (back when the Gulf Building dominated the skyline with the roof open).
Saw many events in this arena including my first hockey game at 7 years old. It was a fantastic place to see any event.
My dad attended the Stones concert at the old Civic Arena. Rumor has it that when they opened the dome, all the weed smoke left the arena all at once, and the whole city of Pittsburgh got high on fumes that night.
Funny story 😂
@@ITSHISTORY thanks! Btw, my whole family and I really enjoy your Pittsburgh videos. So maybe… just maybe… would you ever consider doing a video on the old P&LE railroad? My dad used to work for them throughout the 70s and 80s… as did several of my relatives. P&LE was like a family, and employed a large portion of the local population. But yeah, just a suggestion. No pressure obviously. But might be really fun to see one day!
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Bet people had flashbacks from when the steel mills were pumping out steel 24/7 and the city looked like 1 of the pics they have up in the Incline station on Mt. Washington! 3pm and street lights on from all the smoke!! Lmao.
@@electro_sykes I agree. All my family is from Pittsburgh. I am from Ohio, but would go visit them at least 1 time a month from the time I was a little guy, but then moved there for middle school. In late 2018 I moved from LA back to Pittsburgh to help family out, and my goodness I couldn't believe how much it had changed. It wasn't the Pittsburgh I had remembered that's for sure. Not many people today realize that if it hadn't been for all those steel mills going non stop, WW2 may have ended differently. Lots of history on that city though...
I mean George Washington himself setup shop at the point hence FORT PITT! There's a museum there to this day and also you can still see the outline of Ft. Pitt right outside the museum. IMO the city never recovered from most of the steel industry leaving. I can remember the city in the early 1980's vs. just 6 months ago when I moved back to California. Night and day difference. It's like they just gave up hope.
I was there for that show, I almost floated out of the place myself.
Seeing the circus and monster trucks at the igloo was the best! Great video !
Well done and thanks for highlighting an iconic, now gone, monument in the city of my birth. I've been there only a few times but always thought it was a landmark befitting a city of so many firsts in the nation.
At 5 in 1965 I saw the Ringling Brothers Circus followed by concerts, wrestling, the Pens, the Pipers/ Condors, Globe Trotters and Car Shows. The acoustics in the Arena were near perfect like sitting inside a speaker cone. The PPG Paints Arena is a box with a plastic bag for a ceiling and the din of sterility. That's it Fort Pitt.
I've seen so many concerts at the IGLOO WHAT A GREAT TIME AND PLACE IN 70S AND 80S YOU 412
Mid 90s for me when I was in middle school 🏫
Just bought some of the ornaments! Went there multiple times as a kid for Pens games with my brothers. Great memories!
I went to the Civic Arena in the late sixties with a Cub Scout den outing. We went to watch the Penguins, so it must have been 1967 or thereabouts. I don't remember the details, but it was a great time for a young kid! It was the only time I was ever there, unfortunately. I didn't know it was torn down till now. Thanks for the great video!
I still miss the Igloo. Watched one of the last concerts that opened the roof for us. Hello from the Burgh!
Again thanks Ryan for a piece of History I knew nothing about, but I do now know about this history , THANK YOU...
Thank you...
What an amazing video! I’m a Caps fan so I hate the Pens, but love historical tales of arenas. And yes, that Doors concert was amazing, one of their best live recordings!
A very smooth and well executed discussion of a possibly touchy subject. Matched only by your debonair appearance for this video. Nice job.
I don't remember if it was at the Civic Arena or not, but I can't think of anywhere else it could have been, but I remember my Mum taking my little brother and I to see Sesame Street on Ice when I was around four, maybe five years old, so around '72 or '73. I think we may have seen a Penguins game there too when we were a little older. Even though I only lived in Pittsburgh until I was 12, and even though I haven't been able to get back there for many, many years, Pittsburgh is still home. Everywhere else I've lived since then has only been "Where I live now", but PGH is still home.
Keep up the great work! Perfect!
Thanks for watching!
Loved going to games back in the 70s with my dad and uncle. South balcony was maybe $7.50. Pens were really terrible then but there were always a lot of fans and the games were fun. Last game I went to not long before it closed my wife right after Crosby started playing for them. Sat in the same balcony which had since been expanded and of course tix cost a lot more.
I saw some historic acts in that building. I would catch a greyhound from Wheeling to Pittsburgh. the bus station was close to the arena. Go see a show and ride the bus back to Wheeling and get home at about 4:30 AM. then go to school in the morning. I was a teenager. I saw Alice Cooper do his Billion Dollar Babies tour in there and also Deep Purple in 73 I believe along with others less notable but still nothing I could see in wheeling back then. We do have an arena now and a thriving theatre so that is good.
I remember when Pittsburgh also had their own soccer team called the Pittsburgh spirit. I seen a couple other soccer games there, too.
I still have Spirit memorabilia. Beers mugs and horns I believe
Saw spirit there many times. Great times
Doesn’t Pittsburgh still have a soccer team?
Amazing video, love the spotlight on Pittsburgh. I saw the Wiggles Live and the Circus at the igloo when I was little kid, and my first pens game was there. Sad to see it gone but parking at the arena is such a nightmare that I get it.
The problem with stadiums/arenas is the electrical/pluming/hvac replacement costs become more than a whole new arena after about 30 years.
I think the Ringling Brothers Circus used to perform there annually during the 60s. Sad that it killed a community, Sad too, that the Arena is gone along with the Syria Mosque where I saw several musical groups perform.
The original design could have and should have been maintained. The city administrators let a true gem rot away.
Dad worked at Duquesne University so always had free basketball tickets for the Dukes. 🎩
Many Roundball Classics & concerts when I should have been studying. 😀
I saw The Edgar Winter Group at the Arena in 1973. They opened the dome during " Frankenstein " ! Amazing. Sixteen years old. First concert.
The eminent domain is par for the course. Particularly when it comes to poorer neighborhoods. In the early 2000s, an old,semi historic neighborhood called Johnson Station was destroyed to make way for the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington texas. What’s so ridiculous is that there was a huge swath of open land in the far north part of Arlington that was perfect for a stadium. Instead, the open land was developed into a “luxury” community called Viridian that average folks can’t afford. Viridian is also right across the street from the city dump. 😂
Anytime someone brags about buying/renting a place at Viridian, we do one of these (🙄) and say pay no attention to those methane pipes sticking out of the ground on that giant hill over there.
*Eminent. *Course.
You mentioned more recent wrestling but the pride of Pittsburgh Bruno Samartino and his reign as champ was the golden age of wrestling in Pittsburgh!
The first concert I ever went to was at the Civic Arena, 1996 Smashing Pumpkins
First concert I ever saw was there, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden 1982.
@@dukecraig2402 Seeing Judas Priest and Iron Maiden 82 in their prime must of been amazing. You’re lucky….Painkiller!!! playing that song now
@@dblyolk3535
Yea, I really never understood how lucky I was to have seen Judas Priest on their Screaming For Vengeance tour with Iron Maiden opening for them on their Number Of The Beast tour until about 6 years ago when I mentioned it to someone in the comments of a TH-cam video and they just freaked out, after that comments started pouring in from people who were all talking about trading right arms and first born children to be able to say that, I still get a comment every month or so from that same thread with people wanting to know if I still have a concert t-shirt or my ticket stub they express an interest in buying, I actually had both for years but they spun off into the universe at some point.
From that concert in 82 to when I graduated high school in 83 and left for the Army at the end if September I saw Def Leppard (and that was back when the drummer had both of his arms), Billy Squire, Krokus, Saga, Zebra, ZZ Top, Quiet Riot, Sammy Hagar and I had a ticket to see AC/DC about two weeks before I left for the Army but about a week before the show is when they had problems with that douchenugget Phil Rudd and they postponed the show indefinitely so I never did get to see them, all those shows I saw at the Civic Arena along with Twisted Sister and Ronnie James Dio on two separate occasions when I'd come home on leave, I can't remember who opened for Twisted Sister but I'm pretty sure Gary Moore opened for Dio when I saw him there, after I got out of the Army I saw the Rolling Stones there.
Lots of memories from the Igloo including one of the concerts in 83 when they opened the roof but I can't remember exactly which one it was.
@@dukecraig2402 That’s cool man, all those legendary bands in their prime you are definitely super lucky. I wasn’t born till 83 so I missed out on all that. I did see Pantera at the civic arena in 99 tho that was a show that I’ll never forget. Everything goes full circle I guess bc I’ll be at the PPG paints arena tonight for the Penguins game.
@@dblyolk3535
Along with a couple hockey games in the 90's I also saw The Harlem Globetrotters there back in the 70's during their heyday when Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Joe still played with them, man the trick shots they pulled off was something to see.
I think the last concert I saw there was U2 on their Actung Baby tour, I've had a lot of memories in that place and seeing it go down was a real tear jerker, but time and progress march on and there's nothing you can do except give the future over to the young.
Enjoy your show.
Good story, my friend. In the 70s, tennis was big, I was a teen, I played and we had World Team Tennis, the "PITTSBURGH TRIANGLES " with my favorite player, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, play at the Civic. The court was multicolored. Be well.
Man it was such a beautiful building compared to what they have now.
What I loved about Mellon were the front row of the upper seats at the corners. They were like these cantilevered sections of seats that allowed you to see everything.
I’ve seen a couple circuses there when I was a kid. Through my teenage years I seen many many concerts. I even remember when they had monster truck jam there several times. I remember when Brian Adams had a concert there. Then after the concert we went to a local bar and he was sitting in the bar performing for the bar patrons.
Never did I think I’d see wrestling mentioned on this channel
I attended a RUSH concert at this great facility 45 years ago.
My favorite band!
Man I saw so many concerts there in the 80's and 90's, I also saw The Harlem Globetrotters there in the 70's.
Lots of memories, it was a sad one when they tore it down but hey, time and progress march on, nothing can stop them.
Got to see Niel Diamond there in 1982. That was awesome!
It's actually crazy. I have friends who lived in Pittsburgh and always told me about the igloo. I was like what until you post this and I was like oh right now I remember and I'm a hockey fan who was from Toronto who had an arena literally named after the team itself which was Maple leaf's garden which is still around the day that isn't so popular
Part of the site is now a ~450ft high new HQ for First National Bank that topped off late last year (2023) and should be open later this year (2024).
You forgot about the best movie “Threat Level: Midnight” was also filmed there, when Golden Face was going to blow up the Stanley Cup, but agent Michael Scarn stopped him!
Great video. I did not know anything about the igloo. Thanks for another great well done video🤟
Happy to help!
i saw sesame street on ice there. 10/10 lol
Imremember watching the hell in the cell match live and even now its still awesome!
The most memorable event I attended at the arena was the first start for Marc-Andre Fleury. I had an opportunity to attend game 6 of the 2009 cup finals but had to work.
Another movie filmed at the Civic Arena--and making use of the retractable roof--was "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," about a fictitious basketball team. Not mentioned in the video was the ABA's Pittsburgh Pipers.
The Pipers won the inaugural ABA championship in that arena. A notable omission.
The cast and filming crew of sudden death put there names on a beam it was rediscovered before they tore the place down. It floats on the internet there and there just have to look for it.
Many times I was at this place from penguins games, monster trucks, concerts, circuses, many other things too.
I really miss the Civic Arena of the early 1990s when I was in the 2nd grade.
This was where the Undertaker threw Mankind off the Hell in the Cell in the 1998 WWF King of the Ring.
Yup Civic Arena was the shhhhh. More than beyond good times and memories
I saw the Penguins play there in 69 or so and saw many concerts there as well.
I have a pair of seats at my house that I purchased when they demolished it. Despite spending the majority of your video trying to paint the Civic arena in a negative light, people loved it. Any urban development project is going to bring some pain, but eventually the old has to give way for the new. Progress can be hard sometimes, but the arena proved to be a great thing for the city.
Interesting looking dome stadium!!! I thought it was the new Las Vegas A's dome stadium in Vegas!!!
We had season tickets to the Pens for several years in the early '70s (my dad's company bought them to give to clients, and we went to all that were un-gifted, which was a lot of them). I don't remember even ONCE hearing the Civic Arena referred to as the "igloo" until probably the 1980s. I'd love to see even one verifiable reference of the Civic Arena as "the igloo" in its early years. Not saying it never happened, only that it wasn't something I ever heard said by anyone.
This was really interesting to me because I'm from PA, but the other half that is like a completely different state. I don't know if you've done one on the Reading Terminal in Philly, Baldwin locomotive works, the Reading Outer Station, or other places in SEPA lost to time. I had no idea there was so much history in this area, like the events that occurred in nineteen ninety eight when the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
J Geils band and Jefferson Starship played at the Arena many times and Area high school basketball championships as well
Interesting history. Thanks for the content.
Glad you enjoyed it
Penguins are found in the Antarctic (& the equator), but never in the Arctic where igloos are found!
Pittsburgh sports facilities have always been the target for terrorism. The Vice President being held hostage at the igloo in the 90s. Then that Bane guy totally messed up the field at Heinz Field in 2008.
😂😂😂
Reminds me of the story of the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan 😢
I can't believe they kept playing there after a helicopter crashed through the retractable roof during game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. I'm just grateful that former minor hockey goalie/local fireman Darren McCord was there to save the VP
Got to see Jay-z here in 2010(?) first time in Pittsburgh and it was a great introduction to a new city.
I the feeling reminded me of the Aud in Buffalo before they tore it down
That was the last time i was there! Awesome! Remember when those chicks flashed him and he was like “Hey, whoa now. This is a family show!” 😂😂😂
@@aimeewank7859 I forgot until just now!!! 😂 what a line up, Trey songz, young jeez and JZ. Maybe someone else?
@@foxinurbox Yeah, maybe Usher? There was a female opener too , I can’t remember, that was back in my blunt days lol 😂 It was a snowy school night my senior year of High School and I took the bus with a good friend. She had to sneak out, lol. I had permission, I was pretty responsible and my mom was reasonable. I saw him along with 50 and Missy Elliot out at Starlake Amphitheater years later. (Now Post Gazette Pavilion). I’ve been to so many concerts, I really love it, and my taste is super eclectic. First concert ever at the Civic Arena was Bush and No Doubt. That was awesome too 🤘🏽😎
Very well made video
Thank you very much!
I saw several events here in my childhood - awesome to see.
Very cool!
Hate to break it to you, but 'Mario Lemiuex Place' (the road) is no more too. What remains is now called 'Logan Street' & 'Fullerton Street'.
We saw Roller Derby 3 times as a kid there.
The designer of this arena Edgar J. Kaufmann commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 to build his weekend house Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA. After doing some research Mr. Kaufmann passed away in 1955. So if this arena opened in 1961 I'm curious when he actually designed it.
It has been established in the news here recently that's the families of the people who were displaced want their property back.I fully support this.
This is the same Edgar J Kaufman for whom Frank Lloyd Wright built Fallingwater. I saw Elton John in the Civic Arena on his Yellow Brick Road tour.
University of Pittsburgh used to have its commencement ceremonies there. (Guessing they use Petersen now?)
I remember when my mother told me they wanted to tear down our pittsburgh neighborhood in the late 90s- early 2000s to make way for a highway, but they got the boot.
I was 16 in the late nineties and early 00s
Some of those racist city-councillors must've really hated jazz!
Displacement for the is the way of societies throughout the world, not just the enlightened west.
As of 8/1/2024 , Pittsburgh wants to build a Concert hall where the Civic Arena once stood . They should have thought about this before tearing it down . It was a Pittsburgh Icon . The 3 Rivers Stadium was torn down and was not even paid for yet ! Go Figure .
Heres a fun fact, the penguins locker room at ppg paints arena is in the shape of the lgloo arena.
The Cuvic Arena was only designed to hold 12,000 fans. The Section E terraces were a clever way to bump up actual capacity to 15,000, but the concourses were too small for that size of crowd. Further expansion exacerbated the problem. It’s sad that an iconic arena had to come down, but it was not up to modern standards even with the last expansion; sheer crowd size doesn’t make a big-league edifice.
Pretty sure the dome was aluminum...ill have to find the Christmas ornament I got that was made from the roof panels. If I remember correctly they had trouble stamping them because they were aluminum and the proof on the back would show threw on the front
Very interesting
Stainless steel , not aluminum
The biggest difference between the new and old arena are the ticket costs. The civic arena was accessible by men of basic means, and the new arena isn't. I saw a few penguin games and many concerts there.
Only got to see it once before it got demolished :(
I was at the Igloo for King of the Ring! Row 5!
Ryans sudden style change...lol
Please do more arena coverage
Tropicana field is in an area that was historically significant granted. It wasn’t one wasn’t destroyed to build the other, but still.
Totally different genre but you might consider a story on the Syria Mosque.
Great 👍 video!!
Which modern stadiums have retractable roofs?
Seems odd that in 2023 Taylor Swift did a show in pouring rain and extreme heat 🥵 in Brazil! 🤷♀️
The Rogers Centre (Formerly SkyDome) in Toronto has one, first opened in the late 80s. Still operational, its undergoing some massive renovations.
Miller Park in Milwaukee Wisconsin has one of them to replace Municipal park.
Interesting - - many artists and events were not mentioned.
Hej Ryan, Polish Hill na górze od Civic Arena!
houston astrodome kinda hit different
I've been to many Penguin games there. I took a first date to see Weezer there. So many awesome memories in that building
Part and parcel of why we have no vacancies and high rent now-a-days/
It’s always a great idea to build a gigantic parking lot !
What a waste of space and money…
They never should have torn down the Igloo.
I was in the parking lot during the Grateful Dead riot in 89. Glad I got out with my skin intact.
I hated that they tore it down.