New York Coliseum
Encyclopedia
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
that stood on Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark and point of attraction in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South , and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It is the point from...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon and Lionel Levy in a modified international style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
, and included both a low building with exhibition space and a 26-story office block.
History
The Coliseum was built from 1954 to 1956 by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel AuthorityTriborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, legal name Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, is a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that operates seven intrastate toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City...
under city planner Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
, who, in rescuing a project that had long languished, condemned the area from West 58th to West 60th Streets on the west side of Columbus Circle. During construction in 1955, an accident occurred in which around 10000 square feet (929 m²) of exhibition space collapsed, injuring 50 workers and killing one.
The Coliseum, which replaced the Circle Building and smaller tenement and retail buildings, opened on April 28, 1956, with three exhibitions: the New York International Auto Show
New York International Auto Show
The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in New York City in late March or early April. It is usually held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first Sunday after Easter...
, the National Photographic
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Show, and the Fifth International Philatelic Exhibition. A U.S. postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
commemorates the show and the building. Through 1986, the Coliseum hosted 1,246 events.
The 323000 square feet (30,007.7 m²) Coliseum contained four exhibition floors, including a 150 feet (45.7 m)-square, three-story well for exhibiting such large items as sailboats and airplanes.
The complex was demolished in 2000 to make way for the Time Warner Center
Time Warner Center
The Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by AREA Property Partners and The Related Companies in New York City. Its design, by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft towers bridged by a multi-story atrium containing upscale retail shops...
, originally dubbed the AOL Time Warner Center.
New York Coliseum in the Bronx
An unrelated 105000 square feet (9,754.8 m²) building called the New York Coliseum was an auditorium originally built for Philadelphia's 1926 Sesquicentennial ExpositionSesquicentennial Exposition
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition-History:The honor of hosting...
, and transported in 1928 to Starlight Park
Starlight Park
Starlight Park was an amusement park near West Farms Square on the Bronx River in the New York borough of The Bronx from 1918 to 1932. It was first called "Exposition Park", as the grounds were originally laid out from 1917 to 1918 for the Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and...
at 177th Street and Devoe Avenue in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
(it was also referred to as the "Starlight Park Stadium"). The 15,000-seat edifice was used for circuses, boxing, opera and midget auto racing. Eventually it was used as a New York City Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
garage until 1993.