Yeah, I know it's not radio, but tough.

Attending the Blazers-Raptors game in late December, I see that the M-C is still there, and still an active venue. Glad to see it still standing.

One thing from Buckaroo and Blazer games way back when: As the puck dropped or ball was tossed to begin a period or quarter, the house lights would go down, leaving the ice/court in very cool cameo lighting.
As the game progressed, you got used to the lower lights... to the point that it was always a minor surprise when they came back on at the end of the period/quarter.
Obligatory radio reference: Watching Bill Anderson call the Buckaroos from the radio perch half-way up the building.
I will refrain from too much old-guy moaning about the non-stop noise and invasive 'game enhancement' BS of today's Blazer Experience.
OK, just a little. My 10-year old nephew loves it.

The Beatles played at the MC. A good enough reason right there to respect the place.

Isn't that where the Beatles met the Beach Boys?

It may have been, still one of my best memories of MC was a meet and greet. Z Listeners and staff got to have meatloaf with Meatloaf. The back stage event included string beans too!

The Coliseum was truly a point of civic pride. Along with the Hilton and Lloyd Center, it reflected our anxious yearning to be nationally recognized as a significant city. The new zoo and OMSI played supporting roles, along with the forerunner of our high-tech sector, Tektronix.

Seattle had a World's Fair, but Packy got us into LIFE Magazine.

The loss of our streetcar/interurban system hadn't sunk in yet, and the mistakes of urban renewal and freeway construction awaited notice.

Of course, the sleek and modern Coliseum emerged in traditional Portland fashion: those in the know profited.

But ultimately, the Coliseum did help end the East's confusing us for a much smaller burg in Maine by providing a home for the Blazers (who won the championship in 1977, when post-postwar Portland was beginning to take form).

An interesting blog on putting the "Memorial: in Memorial Coliseum.
http://cyclotram.blogspot.com/2009/01/portlands-wwii-memorial.html

Great thread!

Take this all with a grain of salt because I am an old Portlander, but I love the Memorial Coliseum. It is still one of the all-time great arenas in indoor sports. No visiting team ever felt comfortable in the deafening roar. The space creates a magical interplay between the acoustics and a strong home crowd. The Rose Garden is not nearly as intimidating even with a sold out event.

The simple and magnificent architecture of the Memorial Coliseum is timeless. The large expanses of glass even match the Convention Center and make that facility look less silly. It stands in proud contrast to the white elephant next door. Over the years, I have heard comments that the new arena looks like a diaper pail, or a tuna can with a potato chip on top. I think it looks a bit like a bedpan, only adding to the medical motif with the hypos that stretch into the nearby sky. It certainly rivals the Kingdome for sheer tackiness.

The memories are what make it special. Whether it was my first Trailblazers and Winterhawks games, or seeing Eric Clapton with Mark Knopfler, or the wonderful potpourri that was the Mayor's Ball, or the Barack Obama rally just last year, the facility was the strong heart of the city. I can testify to the intensity and the volume because I was part of a Civil Air Patrol color guard at a packed event back in the '80s. It was a truly breathtaking experience.

Isn't that where the Beatles met the Beach Boys?

Derek Taylor arranged for Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson to meet at his home in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles in April of 1967. Brian remembers first meeting Macca at Abbey Road the same year and hearing him play a new song called, She's Leaving Home. Some accounts have them meeting as late as June 1, 1967 at the launch party for Sgt. Pepper. The important part is that they became lifelong friends.

One bit of musical trivia left out so far is a visit from the King. Elvis played the Memorial Coliseum on April 27, 1973. History was also made a few weeks before on March 31st when Evel Knievel jumped a row of trucks. After the stunt, he officially announced the date of his Snake River Canyon jump to ABC Wide World of Sports.

Elvis Presley plays Portland 1957 (not the MC but cool nonetheless):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPSWHz72QLo

Carl Wilson, Al Jardine and Mike Love met the Beatles in Portland, but it was reported to be at the airport hotel. Mike Love's sister lives in Lake Oswego, which is where they were staying.

A more recent memory: I was still living in Phoenix in 1989, where I was becoming a big NBA fan of the Suns, arch-rivals of the Blazers at that time (though the Blazers always go the best of them in the playoffs). I had a job interview in Portland in the fall of 1989 (which I didn't get), and it so happened the Suns were playing the Blazers in Portland the night after my interview. In fact, the Suns team and coaches flew up with me, taking up the entire 1st class section of the plane! This was in the era before teams chartered their own planes.

Anyway, I saw my first-ever NBA game in Portland - as a Phoenix Suns fan, at the Coliseum, that weekend in November 1989. It was kind of exciting cheering the opposing team (The Suns lost, so no one was all that upset with me). But, this being my first full day in Portland, my future home, I remember having to navigate down to the Coliseum in this strange town, trying not to get lost. Now I live a 15 minute walk away.

Last March, Obama had a rally at the Coliseum (all tickets were "sold out" but I got in at the last minute without a ticket - there was plenty of room). It is a neat place. Glad it's still in business.

Derek Taylor, known for his official role as PR for The Beatles, was at that time in 1967 PR for Portland's Paul Revere & The Raiders. Portland's Roger Hart (PR&R MGR/Original KISN GOOD GUY) hired Derek Taylor away from The Beatles, and in addition Derek also did PR for The Beach Boys and The Byrds. Hence arranging the meeting between The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Way to go Dad! RIP Derek Taylor

Also, it is Mike Love's Brother, Stan, that lives here in the greater Portland area.

Memorial Coliseum has provided great memories, but it's best days are past it. I'd like to see them tear it down and replace it a classic downtown baseball stadium for MLB. It's a perfect spot, right downtown and right on the Max line.

Last summer I saw the Mariners play at Safeco and the Reds play at Great American Ballpark and would love it if Portland had the same type of set up.

Oh yes. The Memorial Coliseum. It was built when quality and being one of a kind meant something. Nowdays they want everything to look the same. Sad. so sad.

Which act had the largest crowd in Glass Palace history?
Three Dog Night. After that riot, festival seating was history.

Besides the sports and entertainment memories, my oldest recollection is when my Dad and I visited the awesome Memorial Coliseum shortly after it was dedicated to see my Uncle's engraved name on the wall. He was a Navy man killed in The Philippines during a bombing on 8 December 1941.

Saw my first real big concert in 1973 at the MC, along with countless others.

My high school basketball team won a state title at the MC too.

Oh yes, probably one of the better Easter Sunrise services happened at Coliseum.

Of course, you are correct. From what I have read, the touring members of the Beach Boys did meet the Beatles here in Portland. I would not want to discount the fun of hanging out with a class act like Bruce Johnston or the great Carl Wilson.

I also forgot to mention seeing the Timbers play indoor soccer at the M.C. too. I remember one game when goalie Mick Poole was hit in the head with the ball in the first quarter. It smacked him so hard that his face was red the entire game. Punchy or not, he never let the ball past him that night and we won.

One cannot have a discussion of the grand old dame of Portland professional sports without including this shining moment from 1977. Rip City!

Can't forget my very first live concert: Iron Butterfly playing the Memorial Coliseum. The acoustics were not good--lots of echoes--but to me it was totally cool!

I was a "real" percussionist in my high school marching band and concert band. At that time, however, one could qualify to play the snare drum in marching band or concert if you could play the drum solo from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".

As long as we are delving into memories, I very much miss the Christmas tree lighting at the Lloyd Center.

I loved Blazer games at the MC.
You could walk right up behind Schonz and say hi, and he'd greet you right back. As a kid it was fun during Blazer games to wander the tunnels and hallways, I met lots of players that way, if they were injured or not playing.
I loved the noise, the closeness, the whole atmosphere, it was ten times more fun than the new joint. Oh well.

Saw the Beatles at the 4pm show on Aug. 22, 1966...and remembered how LOUD the Glass Palace was, especially in the upper level at a Portland Buckaroos hockey game against the Calgary Stampeders...It ended in a 3-3 tie. Bill Anderson was the best.

Great memories everyone! And thanks for starting it off, Rich...

I had blazer season tickets during the last several years they played at the MC. I saw Three Dog Night there, twice as a matter of fact. I might have been a bit too young to remember any riot, but I was in awe of the place and the performers.

Lost some hearing in my right ear during the 1973 Emerson, Lake and Palmer quadraphonic "Brain Salad Surgery" concert at the MC. Another great memory...the Blazers in the NBA Finals sitting in my father-in-law'season ticket seat five rows behind the time keeper at mid-court!!!

Usually, anytime someone mentions the words, "festival seating" in a negative context, they're probably referring to the situation in Cincinnati where they opened the doors and it was first come, first seated. The result was multiple people trampled to death. I believe it was The Who concert in 1978. That quickly put an end to the concept of "festival seating".

Okay I just watched the entire 6th game of the 1977 season. Still sweet to watch that game.

Seeing Schonz in the morning for a recording session. It's all good.

I was at Game 3 and 4 of the 1990 NBA Finals. Blazers-Pistons. To this day, almost 20 years later, I have never been in an arena louder than the coliseum was those nights.

On a side note... Brian Wheeler sucks. Boom Shakalaka is perhaps the DUMBEST catch phrase a play-by-play man can use. Bring back the Schonz!

First concert for me as a 12 year old. Festival seating. Waited all day to see Queen in 1980. Ran down to get 10th row.

Awesome.

there is a copy of the Beatles contract to play there at the website:____I can't think of the name of that websiteat the moment!!??

I saw my very first concert at Memorial Coliseum: Pat Benatar. I remember going there as a kid to see the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

It was also the arena where the Trailblazers played the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, 89-94. I remember how great it was to watch Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Cliff Robinson and Terry Porter play the game. That place would EXXXXXPLODE! Great memories....

Beatles contract:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0418051beatles1.html

Carl Wilson, Al Jardine and Mike Love met the Beatles in Portland, but it was reported to be at the airport hotel. Mike Love's sister lives in Lake Oswego, which is where they were staying.

Maureen, right? I met her at church years ago and she introduced me to Mike Love. It was sooo cool for me. I don't know why PSU doesn't play basketball at the MC.

My first "freebie" concert from a record rep, Depeche Mode in 1990. Back when Depeche Mode could fill a lot of seats, that is.

I remember attending buckaroo games in the mid sixties with friends @ Memorial. And this ties into broadcast.

Jack Capell , the weatherman on KGW TV did the Coliseum in house Hockey announcing. Well everyone knew who Jack was , even us kids ! I used sit across from the announcer booth/tables and watch those guys a lot during the game , Bill Anderson on radio, Jack and other color people, I had an interest in all that when I was 15.

I noticed that Jack always was dressed to the nines, short guy with piercing eyes ! After awhile ( about 2 months of attending games ) I finally figured out all that smart dressing up was because he had to do the 11 o'clock news on 8 , so he just dressed up for the occasion as the games were usually over by 10 or a little after, gave him time to drive to 1501 S.W. Jefferson. He always had a pensive preoccupied look in his face, all business. He used to leave the announce area and walk out of the arena after every period, and would walk right by where we had season seats. If someone came up to him to talk, he would get somewhat animated and friendly, then when they left , back to poker face.

Funny what things you remember. I have told this story before on this board, but since this string is about the Memorial Coliseum....

In 1976-77 I worked for 1520 KYXI. KYXI picked up the new Winterhawks games when someone else dropped them mid season, I forget what station had it now. Anyway , I got to be the engineer on those home games and knew how all the TELCO patching worked for the play by play and all that. Well, then we had a special Basketball game , a playoff game between UP and USF I think it was. So this was to be broadcast on KNBR down a phone line with NO TALK BACK LINE and of course we were the NBC/NIS affiliate in Portland and were obligated to do it all. So they sent me out there to hook it all up. I met this guy named John Miller. Well , we were all younger then and had hair and everything. John Miller currently does MLB play by play on ESPN. Well back then he worked for NBC / KNBR . And so we hooked up this rinky dink phone line with a dial phone to call 415 680 KNBR or whatever it the Hell the number was. John was nervous as a boiled shrimp all worried about timing his sets out to hit the commercial breaks as there was no Talk Back etc and had to sound tight coming out of breaks he couldnt hear...

So long story longer...somewhere in the first period of play, I accidently knocked the reciever off the 'Batphone"...and produced 50 KW of dial tone on the " 680 Lady " my claim to fame for that special sound effect west of the Rocky Mountains. So Miller is having a heart stopping hissy fit...not screaming directly at me, but giving me these sidelong looks like where the hell did this rube come from, Oregon City??? Ya, maybe....anyhow we dialed up the station again and resumed play by play..

Well needless to say I was turning 6 shades of purple and other colors and beating up myself quietly sitting there. And then I got a brainstorm. I went out to the parking lot and to my Oldsmobile and got my Panasonic battery radio reciever and headphones. Came back into the arena pulled up AM 680, full quieting that night inside the building ! Waited till John had a break, and told him to put on the headphones..he just looked at me like ' Now What " ??? When he head the spots playing he got real happy...and said " Your Shittin' me " I have an air monitor ??? So he finished the game with it, extolling the powerful virtues of 680 KNBR and so forth ...

After that we were friends...redemtion is sweet.

Ah, the ol' MC. First Winter Hawks game was in 1978 against the old New Westminster Bruins. First Blazer game in '79 against the Kansas City Kings. Saw the Hawks win the Memorial Cup in '83. I've seen so many games there...wow!

I still remember the thrill of being allowed on the floor to cover the indoor track meet that used to run every January for my HS paper. I got to do play-by-play of a PIL game there when I was at KBPS. It was even fun to see the old Portland Power play there.

Just so many memories...yeah, in places it looks like it's almost 50 years old (amazing it's that old!), but it's still the MC. The Glass Palace. Just love the place.

yea it(the copy of actualBeatles contraxt to play at the MC) was on the smoking gun website!I think they had option to not perform if audience was segragated? on concert daythey might have yhought it might be "segragated"here in undiversified Port;and just by looking out at the (mostly White(I presume)crowd??

62kgw, our schools, many restaurants and other public places were still segregated at that time. In fact, The Glass Palace might have been the very first major city project that was not divided racially from the start. While almost half of the nearly 500 residences that were bulldozed to make way for the project were occupied by African-Americans, the facility itself was one of the few places where Portlanders were never kept separated by race.

Lots of great memories at the MC, that's for sure. I introduced Loggin's and Messina at the venue. Country Joe McDonald was also on the bill that night too. I still think it's a great place for a show
but many other venues offer better seating, acoustics, and more
in the Portland area.

I did not think it(Memorial coloseum) was diveded into race sections,butsomeone looking out at the audience briefly might have saw mostly only one shade and jumped to an incorrect conclusion perhaps?Perhaps portland was on a "list" of some sort,that might have triggered the concern?

As far as I know, there was only one African-American kid in my grade school. He must not have had much trouble fitting in because he was the student body president. 4 years later, he was student body president of my high school.

I'm a women's basketball fan. Before the ABL went out of business the Portland Power played there and it was great to have our team play in the venue that the Blazers won the NBA championship instead of shoddy venues that other teams played in. The Power got a fabulous deal, something like $3,000 for weekday games and $5,000 for weekend games. I nearly threw up on the court during their intense playoff game there.

When Portland State hosted the Women's Regional (the Elite Eight) in 2000, the Memorial was a perfect venue to host it. That year a team that just barely made the tournament played there after beating University of Oregon in Eugene and destroying Southern Miss. That team was the UAB BLAZERS. When their athletic department was established in 1978, the UAB students voted to call their team the Blazers after a certain team that had just won the NBA championship. When the Women's Regional was going to be at the Memorial over twenty years later, it seemed like fate that their women's basketball team would play there.

The Memorial isn't a terrible venue. It is certainly comparable to Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Little Songs...I grew up in Portland, and don't remember ever "eye witnessing" any segregation conditions. As pre-schooler during the Eisenhower years, I vaguely recall talk of "black only" public restrooms downtown...but I'm not certain.

I grew up on the West Side, and don't recall any black students at Tigard High School. So, perhaps it was going on elsewhere in the metro, but never experienced it or bigotry in our area.

However, I learned via reading that early in the 1900's the Ku Klux Klan actually had a presence in Southern Oregon.

The “MC” – Elvis and Micky Dane.. KYTE rented the entire Coliseum in 1978.

Hired Psychic Micki Dahne to bring back Elvis – well at least his spirit - 1 year after His death…As I recall there was about 4000 people attending the max. capacity 12,500 Station spent about $20,000 and No Elvis did not appear. Micki was not able to bring back his spirit but it was a fun party at the hotel across the street until
some of the guests complained about items being thrown out the window by the KYTE air staff!

Hi Tom! Been a long time!

"The Elvis Experiment." I still have a copy of the promo we aired for the event. What a shameless hoot! I wonder how much Bob Brooks would pay me to make it disappear?

Is the same Scott Young I new at KYTE who was in charge of the Blazers Board running for the world champions in 1977??

Great to talk to you too!

Now that promo for "Elvis" is worth a lot of talk. I'll never forget meeting Micki in the KYTE lobby.. She told me I would someday end up as a news correspondent in Europe..(Perhaps my next life).. She was great.. I am trying to remember the reason she could not bring him back that night -- Was it she didn't get "the spirit feeling" in the Coliseum or did she really believe he was alive and well in Vegas?

It's strange but I can't remember if I worked the championship game or not. Might have been Steve Naganuma or Rhiner Johnson if it wasn't me.

In the early 1900s, the KKK was roughly the size of the Republican Party!(maybe not quite that big) I believe they used to go after the Catholics and there were other targets before African-Americans. They showed the appearance of a well respected organization and counted at least one US President in their membership.

Semoochie is correct. Here in Oregon the Klan had many members. Not one of our brighter moments. To read more on this check out "The Truth About The Ku Klux Klan, 1921" part of the Oregon History Project and created by the Oregon Historical Society:

http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?do c_ID=419C6376-F5D3-411B-1319F7210FB9FB94

I found the KYTE promo for "The Elvis Experiment" at the Memorial Coliseum. You can find it here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=dcdfb3139046a664dd8b33b5aa27078d

Sorry about the speed drag near the beginning...this tape should have been baked before the transfer. Does anyone recognize who's voicing this along with Bob Brooks?

Sadly, even the most celebrated icons of Portland had shameful days. Look closely at this picture of Waddle's from 1953 and you can see how far we really have come as a community. A short seven years after that photograph was taken, the Memorial Coliseum opened to the public. Around the time our fully integrated Blazers were crowned champions, Jim Crow laws were overturned and upscale Portland neighborhoods could no longer be lawfully segregated.

To clarify my original statement, I was celebrating the fact that the M.C. belonged to all Portlanders from the start. It is not a coincidence that Obama spoke there, along with many other uniquely American places tied into the triumphs and tragedies of local history. Our city bears the deep scars of segregation, murder, riots and institutional racism. At the same time, we can all be proud of our Glass Palace and the lasting change it represents.

Thanks for the links, Littlesongs. I knew what your were saying. I was saying I didn't remember ever seeing it...but it I was pre-school and unaware.

The Elvis Experiment..

Scott -- That audio is perfect.. gave me chills just listening to it again!

Elvis would be (or is) proud!

a quick note on the Memorial Coliseum, my dad, Bob Blackburn Sr. broadcast the frist two seasons of Portland Buckaroo hockey on KPOJ from there( 1960 & 1961).i still have some tapes of some portions of the games, that hopefully will become available on cd down the road to help defray his medical costs, he's currently in a health care facility in Seattle. personal memories besides attending some of those games, the 4pm Beatles show 9/22/65, the Rolling Stones show in 1966, seeing The Byrds & Jfferson Airplane in 1967 ( on a side note i got to MC a dvd release for a Jefferson Airplane DVD at The Silent Movie house here in L.A. a few years back and Jorma, Jack & Grace were there and i told the story of seeing them at that show and how at the end of it, they invited the audience to come up on stage and dance with them, which as a 16 year old i did, and how they all smelled "a little funny"... also the 1965 Far West Classic , with players like Cazzie Russell and Bill Bradley, before he left to become a Rhodes Scholar.
i came up in 2006 in Aug. hoping other Beatles fans like me would meet in the parking lot, but saw no one there, oh well,i'll always have the memories of the screaming gorls and Paul "waving" towards our section and everyone screaming.. and he sounded great on the Grammies last night reprising a song from 40+ years ago played at the MC

south at the oakland Coloseumone time the <onkees put on a concert and almost no one(perhaps 100 or so fans!!??) showed up to see them!approx 1970 I think!!!??

Like most of us native Portlanders, my first concert was at the MC. A triple bill:
Deep Purple, The Grass Roots, The Turtles.

Years later, Turtles redux, seeing Frank Zappa during the Flo & Eddie days.

Beach Boys 1976 "Bicentennial" Tour with Brian comeback included.

Sitting practically courtside during the very first Trailblazer season, for cheap!

Great memories all. Thanks for the thread.

Elvis Presley November 76 at MC...fat and bloated... but he could still sing and move!

My first concert was at the MC. Don't remember the year, but Chicago was the headliner, with opening act Aerosmith.

It was 1967 or 1968 - The 'Teen Fair' with Dino, Desi & Billy.

1974 Doobie bros and Pablo cruise

I remember when Madison, my alma matter, played Grant for the state basketball title in 1969 which Grant, unfortunately, won. That was exciting.

Or how about The Commodores (I think 1978)..

It was my first big date with this Hot Blonde (She was really 1st class – was I ever lucky) Of course I was a hot on air DJ who new it all…

We got through with the concert, and of course I had my hopes up to get her to my place…

We get out in the huge parking lot at the Coliseum and I could not find my car…not for just a few minutes but 20 minutes later…

Forgot how it ended up..but was I ever mad at the MC parking lot!!!

My first concert was Def Leppard Hysteria tour at the MC in 88(?)... nosebleed seats, bleeding ears... good times.

The house TELCO guy there in the 90's, and before I presume.

Stony.

Anyone deal with him?

Not sure how it's spelled, remember him being cool.
I was a teenager at KBOO and he was the one who wired up the building so we could get board feeds from all the rooms wired into one room we were in during the Mayors Balls.

That's where our large collection of 111c coils came into play.

Theirs a lot of rooms in that building.

Ma Bell in the 70s was a maze of red tape on a good day. Paperwork for a toll loop for a sports broadcast would be lost in the phone company's bureaucracy. With only a few hours to go before a remote broadcast, a call would go out to Stony on behalf of a panicked radio station, and he'd line up all needed technical facilities in various phone company exchange offices, and have them test out successfully...sometimes with only minutes to spare before airtime.

Stony worked miracles...

Now that we have MLS soccer it looks like the Memorial Coliseum much longer. At least it would make sense to have a baseball stadium. I would like to see a 43,000 one that could house major league baseball. I guess I am a bit excited since I have long liked soccer.

The Who in 1976. Couldn't hear for about two hours after that one.