Chicago Coliseum
|
|
The Chicago Coliseum was a large building in Chicago, Illinois that included an arena, convention hall and other facilities. The Coliseum hosted a number of political conventions, including the 1912 Republican National Convention. It was built on the site of an earlier building that had hosted the 1896 Democratic National Convention and burned down in 1897.
The Coliseum hosted the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL from 1926-1929. The Blackhawks chose to move to the newly built Chicago Stadium because of the small size of the Coliseum arena - it sat only 6,000 - and the fact that the Coliseum lacked icemaking facilities, having to wait for the weather to cool sufficiently to create an ice rink.
The arena stood for a number of years after the Blackhawks left, serving as a venue for early pro basketball in Chicago, rock concerts, and protests during the 1968 Democratic Convention. It was demolished in 1982.