Yale dean, others lobby to save New Haven coliseum
(New Haven-AP, Aug 10, 2002 11:36 AM) __ The dean of the Yale School of Architecture has been turned away in his effort to preserve the New Haven Coliseum.
Robert A-M Stern says tearing down the 30-year-old arena is, quote, "architectural murder," end quote.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Junior rejected Stern's argument. He has announced that the coliseum will be shut September First and eventually demolished.
Stern says the coliseum is a major monument to what is called the super-scale architecture of the 1960s and 70s.
A preservation group also is lobbying DeStefano against tearing down the money-losing coliseum.
A group called Documentation and Conservation of Modern Monuments says post-World War Two buildings are being demolished or altered without any consideration for their architectural merit.
DeStefano says closing the building was an emotional decision, comparing the building to an old friend.