This one brings back memories. I grew up in small town fifty or so miles from downtown Pittsburgh, just close enough to make the occasional visit to the big city. The Civic Arena opened in 1961, the first major venue in the United States with a retractable roof. I can remember making a visit not long after the building was completed. We weren't there to see anything in particular, but just to walk around the building and take a look at the newest wonder in the city. The original tenant was the Civic Light Opera, which despite it's name didn't stage operas so much as musicals. Sadly, the acoustics were terrible, so seeing My Fair Lady at the Arena wasn't such a big deal. Still, despite the echos, over the years, there were a lot of rock concerts there. What the Civic Arena was really famous for was sports. It started with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL. (1961-1967) I saw the Hornets play there a few times. With the first expansion of the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first major league tenant. I also saw quite a few Penguin games as well. Dunc McCallum was my favorite from their first season. In addition to the Penguins, the Civic Arena was also home to basketball teams like the Pittsburgh Pipers, Condors, and Rens. World Team Tennis, the Pittsburgh Triangles, (I saw a few of their matches.) Indoor soccer, roller derby, wrestling, and boxing. The building closed and was demolished in 2010.
The caption on the back, "Public Auditorium-Pittsburgh, PA. The world's largest movable dome, as seen from the promenade deck atop the Gulf Building. This all purpose sports arena, convention hall and auditorium-theater, built at a cost of 22-million dollars is one of America's engineering wonders. The huge stainless steel roof, weighing more than 3,653 tons can be rolled back in two and one-half minutes, for open-air events such as operettas." The card was never used.
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