Description: Built in 1929, Chicago Stadium was the crowning achievement of local sports promoter Paddy Harmon. The largest sports arena in the world when it was built, the stadium was completed at a total cost of $9.5 million. The Madhouse on Madison witnessed an active 65-year reign as the citys greatest auditorium. Home to both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls, the stadiums attendance eclipsed that of others around the nation as it hosted numerous boxing matches, the first playoff game of the National Football League, rodeo competitions, and concerts (featuring Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and later KISS) among other events. Chicago Stadium fell to the wrecking ball in 1995.
Brief description: Paul Michael Peterson, a native Chicagoan, is an instructor at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. His previous books include Chicago's Soldier Field, Chicago's Wrigley Field, and Swedish Chicago.