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09/15/2022 12:00 AMTo many baby boomers, the former New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum represents the glory days: From Aerosmith to ZZ Top, and even Elvis, the Elm City hosted some of the biggest names of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, along with minor-league hockey, monster-truck pulls, and professional wrestling.
The New Haven Museum will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Coliseum’s first event—a hockey game, on Sept. 27, 1972—with a virtual lecture, “New Haven Coliseum: Where Boomers Roamed,” by Quinnipiac University Associate Professor Richard Hanley. The free presentation will be held on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. For more information and to register, visit www.newhavenmuseum.org, or facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum, or call 203-562-4183.
Hanley will discuss how the Coliseum, which was demolished in 2007, became more than an entertainment venue. He notes it became a “cultural capitol” to many boomers and stood long enough for them to share their experiences with their children. He summarizes, “In short, the Coliseum mirrored the rise and demise of baby boomers as a cultural force in the region.”
From a personal perspective, Hanley notes he saw many a Coliseum show for free while writing for the University of New Haven newspaper. While his favorite performance was by Bob Dylan, in 1975, his memory of the 1978 Bruce Springsteen show includes a front-row view and being asked by guitarist Steven Van Zandt to help with crowd control.
Hanley’s documentary Last Days of the Coliseum was nominated for an Emmy Award. The two-hour film is slated to air on CPTV at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 50 years to the day of Coliseum’s opening.