A poetry friend emailed and told me they were dismantling the roof. I drove by after school Tuesday, rain and gray. A huge chain link fence has been erected around the perimeter. I could see what she noticed and why she thought it might be an interesting photograph. It felt sad. My friend V says she remembers when the Civic Arena was built(1961) and that the roof never really did work right, although it was supposed to open up to the sky in less than two minutes according to what I read about it.
“Mellon Arena… hosted such music legends as Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, six sold-out nights of Garth Brooks and The Grateful Dead
The Mellon Arena hosted its first show, the Ice Capades, on September 19, 1961. Other notable performance highlights include: The Beatles on September 14, 1964, Elvis Presley on June 25, 1973 and the Page/Plant concert on March 25, 1995, which registered the highest attendance ever in the Arena (17,764) until January 30, 1999 when 18,150 fans packed the arena for a WWF house show.” from History of Mellon Arena
And the Penguins play at the new Consol Energy Center built down the hill from the old Arena. Here is phase one, the beginning of the tearing down of the Mellon Arena. Lots of memories for many people.
Dedicated hockey fans.