History:
"In December 1948, Edgar Kaufmann and Abe Wolk announced that in 1950, the CLO would perform in a new amphitheater with a 'removable' roof. A few months later, Kaufmann and the city each pledged $500,000, and the search for a site began... in 1951, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's plan to demolish the dilapidated Lower Hill gave birth to another idea: Build an all-purpose, year-round facility for the CLO that also would be used by the Pittsburgh Hornets hockey team, the Ice Capades, basketball and circuses, and for public meetings and conventions.

In February 1950, Kaufmann showed City Council a model of the proposed "umbrella amphitheater" designed by architects James A. Mitchell and Dahlen K. Ritchey. Mitchell invented a motorized, retractable roof of fabric-coated plastic -- two bat-like wings attached at the top to a cantilevered, steel arm and to the round base below. The design won an award in Progressive Architecture magazine." Information courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"When it first opened in 1961, the Mellon Arena was known as the Civic Arena. Then in December of 1999, the resident Pittsburgh Penguins signed an $18-million, 10-year agreement to rename the Civic Arena the Mellon Arena, after the Pittsburgh-based bank. The Mellon Arena has exemplified every trait of a world class entertainment facility. Originally built to house the Civic Light Opera, the Mellon Arena is home to a variety of family shows and has 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.

The Mellon Arena is famous for its revolutionary architectural design which features the largest retractable, stainless steel dome roof in the world--170,000 total square feet and 2,950 tons of Pittsburgh steel. The roof, which has no interior supports, is divided radially into eight leaves and is supported by a huge cantilever arm that arches 260 feet. The Mellon Arena, which was featured in the 1995 film "Sudden Death" starring Jean Claude Van Damme, boasts a dome that is designed to open or close in just two minutes." Information courtesy Mellonarena.com

Forum: Statement by Rob Pfaffman, architect, planner and board member of Preservation Pittsburgh, June 02, 2002. "Every attempt should be made to transform the Civic Arena from a symbol of failure to a symbol of rebirth. The great dome of the arena is part of our skyline and can provide a focus to new development around the arena."

Civic Arena & Site Charette Summary (PDF File) Saturday, June 29, 2002, Kaufmann Auditorium. Approximately 30 residents and citizens attended an open house type "charette" to learn about the building and provide input into the potential reuse of the Mellon Arena and the land surrounding it. Includes: Ideas Generated; Architectural Concepts; Redevelopment; Next Steps. Well illustrated with color drawings.

2002 Pennsylvania at Risk Nomination, (PDF File) by Preservation Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, March 30, 2002 to Preservation Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Civic Arena is historically significant as an engineering and architectural innovation. The Civic Arena was the worlds largest dome in 1962 at 415 feet in diameter. The dome consists of six moveable sections and two fixed, supported by a space frame box girder...Nicknamed the 'Igloo', the arena has a seating capacity of 18,000 for events."

Letter Of Application to The Bureau of Historic Preservation for the Mellon Arena, 6th of July, 2001, submitted by Gary J English. Full documentation on-line with photographs, letters to the editor, and rejections from the City of Pittsburgh, City Planning, Historic Review Commission.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette:
Mellon Arena dealt landmark setback. Panel rejects, 4-3, historic designation Thursday, August 08, 2002 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer. "Efforts to save Mellon Arena from the wrecking ball suffered a stunning setback yesterday, when the sharply divided Historic Review Commission voted against giving the 41-year-old hockey rink a city historic designation. . . 'I'm surprised and disappointed,'' said Rob Pfaffmann, a local architect and Preservation Pittsburgh's vice president, who had spoken strongly in favor of the nomination."

Arena's famous dome fell flat for the theater It was an engineering marvel but a performer's nightmare. Monday, May 13, 2002 By Patricia Lowry, Post-Gazette Architecture Critic

Editorial: Not-so-historic / The arena comes up short in a landmark test Friday, August 09, 2002

Note: The above stories are held on local newspaper web sites. Please let us know if the article/articles are removed from the on-line archives.