BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I think it should go. I don't find the building all that attractive, certainly the parking lots aren't and my gut feeling is that nothing would happen for years on that site if they leave it there. It would just be an eyesore.

Of course, that's also a possibility if it gets demolished but there does seem to be a bit of support behind the idea of putting a "cap" over crosstown blvd and reconnecting Wylie and Webster Avenues to downtown. If they could build a really vibrant community there, that would be a huge asset.

I think they should've thrown money at fixing up the igloo so every home game is a "winter classic."

as far as reconnecting... the only thing keeping downtown investment from snuffing out whatever remains of the hill district is the arena. now, business interests from downtown will not have that impediment.

I love the building, and I really wish there was some way to keep it, and this has nothing to do with the Pens. It is a piece of engineering genius, there is no other building like it in the world, from a time when Americans and Pgh'ers were still self confident enough to create groundbreaking statements, instead of generic, income generating "sports boxes" (Consol). And it is a historic symbol of the "rennaisance" in Pgh, when the city really began to shift its image of itself from a dirty factory town to a shining place the inhabitants could be proud of.

The crappy, auto-centric site, parking, and roadway design are just the worst of '50's "urban design", and need to go away.

Ironic that the "new" generic Consol Arena keeps the city anchored like a dinosaur in the coal age.

It would make a freaking awesome velodrome.

the historic symbolism of it means something completely different to the people who live in the hill. to this day people still look at that building as the thing that destroyed their neighborhood.

Tear it down! It's an eyesore. I hope that they can do something other than a parking lot in its place.

it could (somehow) be a great opportunity to try to tie downtown int0 that sidewalk that runs along bigelow and frank curto park to downtown.

+1 Erok.

Some friends that are a few years older than me tell the rationale of putting the Arena there in the first place was partly to get rid of a "blot" on the civic life of Pittsburgh.

The "blot"? A racially mixed neighborhood that thrived there before being condemned to build the arena.

Tear that f*cker down.

@edmonds - if it worked well enough to open the thing up more than once every few decades? I might be swayed some by the engineering heritage arguments. I've never seen it open.

Never. And I've been here longer than dirt.

Mick

Is it the arena's fault or is it the maze of fast moving roads and entrance ramps?

I've never seen it open. Never. And I've been here longer than dirt.

I've worked downtown since 1991. I've seen it open twice. It's even uglier when open...

I would absolutely love to see the building preserved. However there's hopefulness and then there's political reality. I've resigned to the concept that there are simply more people that want it gone and to build anew. I'm not going to throw a tantrum about it, but I think it will always be one of those big "what if's" in our city's history.

Also, if they truly fix the mess of ramps and bridges around Crosstown Expressway I would have no room to complain. Cover up that mother ****** for God's sake already! Those over/under passes are the same type of eyesore and barrier like the highways on the North Side.

On a related note, I heard a rumor that someone in the suburbs was entertaining the idea of purchasing at least the roof structure, with the intent of reconstructing it somewhere else. I am ALL FOR THAT!

Mellon Arena roof could be reused in N. Hills office park

Good, DO IT! It would be a wonderful way to preserve the history of an iconic structure of Pittsburgh and still accommodate for new redevelopment.

I can't argue the fact that it was a tragedy to lose that part of the hill. I think the mistakes of '60's "urban revitalization" should be beaten into the heads of anyone as examples of NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. I wish I could go hang out on Wylie Avenue as much as anyone. But I'm not going to wish vengeance on a building.

I was there in about 1993, at an INXS (dear god, there was a girl involved, leave me alone) concert, the roof was kept closed right until the show, and they started rolling it open right at sunset, and as it opened, a blazing red gash of sunlight appeared on the side opposite the opening. It was cool.

@edmonds - it would be worth going to an INXS concert for that alone.

Also women have persuaded me to do worse things. Really.

Mick

I will never, ever, ever forget the after-concert, either. sigh.

While I like the architecture, and the uniqueness of the dome, I have no heartstrings tied to the thing. I didn't think the dome was openable at all because of a big scoreboard the Pens installed a few years back, but that it could be if the sign was removed.

What I find more intriguing is this idea, concerning the creation of a walkway to connect it with the Convention Center; see #14 on that link. An elevator or two might make this easier.

Even if the arena goes, I think development will still be hampered by 579. The proposed cap on 579 needs to be implemented, with the opportunity for businesses to be located right on the cap. There was a similar project in Columbus that connected the Short North to Downtown. When you're walking on the cap, you have no idea that there's a highway underneath you. It really helped to draw the two communities together rather than be separated by a highway.

I earlier had the SWAN (silly, wild-assed notion) to put a cap over I-279 all the way from North Avenue to Mount Pleasant Road, and put an 18-hole golf course on top of it. Name one other large city in the world with an 18-hole golf course within the city limits. You want to attract big business to Pgh? How hard would that be, anyway? Steel and dirt.

@jake you're right. I was in cbus this past weekend, stayed in the arena district and walked all around through short north and downtown and the cap(s) are quite nice.

I feel hesitant to tear down what is really a classic monument of modern architecture. Cities lose a bit of their identity every time a building gets torn down.

That said, we owe a great debt to the people of the Hill for wrecking their neighborhood with a sea of parking (and highways) for suburbanites. The best solution I can think of would be to turn the thing into a grocery store. Saves the building and gives the Hill the grocery store it needs.

that would be a hell of a grocery store. I'm thinking east-end food coop needs a downtown/hill location.

I suppose it could have been converted into some kind of cool African-American cultural center. It's not like it's in a historically significant location. And it doesn't in any way resemble a traditional Swazi or Zulu "beehive" hut.

oops.

You just won this thread.

I think there are a lot of "issues" being covered here, from architectural preservation to land use to neighborhood fabric. All are important, in their own way and to varying degrees. To me, the Arena is a fascinating piece of architecture. The sea of parking around it is the truer catastrophe. But, that's an awful lot of building to try to "redevelop" into a new use. As much as I would like to see the structure stay, I think it has to go. Just please, please, please don't fill the space with overpriced yuppie condos! P.S. I've been there when they opened the roof on two occasions. One was an Moody Blues concert in the 80's. I was in an upper level and once they opened the roof, we couldn't hear the music AT ALL. But, the sky was beautiful.

Uggh, something with that link above went sour since I put it up. Recomend not clicking, can that be removed? sorry.

It works fine if you copy and paste it. They have a referrer block setup to prevent hotlinking on images, but it also prevents any links to them. Here is a webpage that might work, that contains the same image: http://www.travel-images.com/photo/photo-swaziland4.html

Phew, thanks, glad I didn't mess up anyone's day.

Turn it into a velodrome.