The Portland Memorial Coliseum, a multipurpose indoor arena in Portland, Oregon, is home to sporting events, concerts, and the Winterhawks hockey team. Its glass walls allow natural light to flood the interior, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The arena has hosted famous musical performances and major sporting events, including the NCAA championship game and NBA Finals. Its historic designation recognizes its architectural prominence.
The Portland Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena located in the Rose Quarter of the city of Portland, Oregon. The multipurpose facility, built in 1960, is home to sporting events and music concerts and the official home of Portland’s hockey team, the Winterhawks. The structure, covered by glass walls, can accommodate 14,000 people. The Portland Memorial Coliseum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an acknowledgment of its historic significance that has stymied a move to tear it down in favor of a baseball stadium.
The name “Glass Palace,” a nickname for the Portland Memorial Coliseum, comes from its extensive use of glass walls that allow light to flood the interior. An honor roll with the names of military service members who have lost their lives in various wars adorns a wall near the Colosseum’s indoor memorial fountain. The extensive use of natural light in the design was intended to shatter the memory of the darkness faced by these veterans. The bright buildings created in the United States after World War II, including the Portland Memorial Coliseum, turned a nation’s optimistic gaze toward prosperity and the hope for continued peace. Today, in addition to hosting sporting events and musical concerts, the Colosseum has been the stage for graduations, religious events, speakers including the Dalai Lama and numerous other community events.
The Portland Memorial Coliseum has been the site of many famous musical performances and major sporting events. Musical artists who have performed there include Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Luciano Pavarotti and Led Zeppelin. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) held their championship game there in 1965. The National Basketball Association (NBA) played the Finals there three times, once in the 1970s and twice in the 1990s. Portland’s professional basketball team, the Trail Blazers, once called the arena home.
The Portland Memorial Coliseum’s listing on the Nation’s Historic Register is an achievement for the city. At the time of its nomination, the arena was just short of the 50-year-old buildings to be considered for the honor, but it won the designation nonetheless, for its architectural prominence. The historic designation made the arena one of fewer than 20 facilities in the state under the age of 50 to achieve that distinction.
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