"When I was younger so much younger than today"
As a kid I listened to Portland Trailblazer games in our family kitchen in Bend. Few games were televised and many were losses anyway. The post-game show was like desert after dinner. My awesomely cool Uncle Ken treated me and two friends to our first live Blazer games in March 1975. After the game we crowded down to the floor to witness Bill Schonely's interview for real!
It was a Sunday afternoon. In the awesomeness of the moment I noticed a strange
light enveloping the floor as if someone opened a door to the outside. I looked up to see a large curtain opening
behind the upper red seats of the Memorial Coliseum. What thuh? I remember thinking.
The Memorial Coliseum opened in 1960 to help usher a mid-sized city into relevance. It was renamed The Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 2011 to remind us of this building's original mission. The wall of names underneath the main entrance remains a somber tribute to WWII and Korean War Veterans.
A free standing structure surrounding an
unattached concrete arena (a bowl inside a glass box). That’s how it’s described by architects to novices like me. Apparently the rooftop (the size of four city blocks) being supported by just four columns is a highly complex engineering fete. It's a simple yet bold design that reflected modernism in the dawn of
the space age. There were no
luxury boxes or multiple levels. Everyone entered and exited the arena onto one
concourse with a 360 view of the surrounding city. In recent years there’s been support to save
this unique structure but it’s hard to know where that stands today: Save the VMC
The NCAA Final Four was played here in 1965. Bill Bradley and Gail Goodrich had epic performances: 1965 Final Four A few months later the Beatles paid their only visit but didn’t spend the night. Help! The Beatles The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Pavarotti, Led Zeppelin among many others followed.
The biggest moments for the VMC were centered around the NBA and the Portland Trailblazers. In June 1977 locals went nuts when Bill Walton tipped George McGinnis’ miss to Johnny Davis sealing Portland’s first major league championship. The Trail Blazers were 10-0 at home that post-season and Blazer mania was born in Rip City. The Blazers returned to the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992 when Clyde Drexler’s Blazers ruled the western conference. They left a myriad of memorable moments (here) but another championship proved elusive. Should we have picked Michael Jordan in 1984?
The NBA draft was held here in 1992! One of the only times away from New York and a tall guy named Shaq was the top pick. The original Dream Team and Tournament of the Americas immediately followed: 1992 Dream Team Celebrities filled the arena - the cast of the Cosby show sat on the floor! It was a big deal at the time but maybe now... Anyway for a brief two months the VMC was the hub of sports in America.
In 1995 The Rose Garden (aka Moda Center) opened and the VMC was relegated to a supporting role. It remains the primary home of the Portland Winterhawks and the start of the Rose Parade. Occasionally people like then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 speak in front of a packed house AND area high schools hold graduation ceremonies. Trade shows and conferences fill the void.
Today hot-tubs, blinds and steam cleaners are schlepped where Walton tore down
rebounds and BIC lighters were raised for Queen and Styx! Echos of Fat Bottomed Girls and Renegade can almost be heard but only by those of a certain age. If this floor could talk. We bought the steam cleaner BTW - they got us with the demo.
Photos from a recent Portland Winterhawks game taken by my
friend Bill Small got me going on this project.
This piece is 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas.
This piece is 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas.
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