Construction of the Civic Arena

1957/1961

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Construction of the Civic Arena
  • Title
  • Construction of the Civic Arena
  • Creator
  • United States Steel
  • Identifier
  • MSP285.B001.F17.I01
  • Source Identifier
  • MSP285.B001.F17.I01
  • Description
  • The Civic Arena, located in the heart of the Lower Hill section of Pittsburgh, had its origins in the late 1940s, with Edgar Kaufmann’s enthusiasm for summer opera. The architectural firm of Mitchell & Ritchey and the engineering firm of Ammann & Whitney and Robert Zern designed the structure. The Civic Arena opened in 1962 with a stainless steel dome 415 feet in diameter (the world’s largest at the time) composed of eight sections that are supported by a cantilevered tripod that holds six of the sections when they are swiveled back. Each of the sections weighs 220 tons; all six can be opened in a little over two minutes. The entire movable roof weighs 5.5 million pounds. The capacity of the building at the time of its construction was 18,000. Pittsburgh companies were integral to its construction, with the dome sections made by ALCOA, the motors for the retractable dome by Westinghouse, and the ventilation system by Koppers.
  • Genre
  • photographs
  • Subject
  • Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Auditoriums--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Lower Hill (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Penn-Lincoln Parkway.
  • Source
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, 1892-1981, MSP 285, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
  • Contributor
  • Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
  • Collection
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
  • Rights Information
  • Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/