Philadelphia 57 Scapbook - 1 New image

[davide]

del

[aussierose]

Thank you, Davide. Absolutely brilliant.

LINDA DEUTSCH 2002 "When I was just a kid, a voice on the radio changed my life and American music forever. It was Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak Hotel." I started a fan club,The official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Asbury Park and dreamed of going to Memphis to see The King. "I never met Elvis but I did see him in person once, which was a powerful experience. In 1957 we heard that Elvis was performing in Philadelphia and we persuaded Carol's mother to take us on a bus to see the concert.
It was a scene of incredible pandemonium with kids fainting and screaming. When Elvis came onstage, the building shook with screams as if an earthquake had struck.......
We were the fan club and we thought we'd have great seats. But, alas, we wound up in nosebleed heaven. Elvis was a remote, wiggling figure far, far away from us. But when I looked at my friend Carol, tears were streaming down her face.
"Carol, what's wrong?" I asked."HE LOOKED AT ME!" she exclaimed.I would always cite that as an example of the Elvis magic. Everyone thought he looked at them"

I love this story, to me it explains Elvis, and being a fan, beautifully and precisely.

Helen

[hilton22000]

Woow, another treasure for our forum. Thank you very much, David, GREAT work!!

[Elton]

Just when i thought you couldn't top your last topic,you come in with this, very cool Davide!!

[drjohncarpenter]

Christmas came two weeks early. Thanks "Santa"!

[KHoots]

Fantastic! Thanks...

[The fool]

Thank you for another great thread, davide!

A few additions...

[Rocker]

As always a great thread !
It would make one helluva book if you collected all your great topics into it, maybe with a little DVD with some footage from the 50s. I tell ya, I get a better feeling of what it was like in the old times than from any documentary.... Keep it up !

[davide]

Thanks everyone,had it on file for a while,just needed the time to complete. Thanks to The fool for the uncropped image below which I've had a go at 'cleaning up'



Thanks Davide

[Joe Car]

Infrickincredible! Thanks again davide!

[Mississippi]

There are outdoor pictures from the Pennsylvania Sports Arena ?

Mississippi

[Greybeard]

I get into Phialdelphia quite often. If someone could send me the address of where the building was (is) located, I'll try to get some current pictures.

I don't know where it was located and can't find any info.

[JamesVRoy]

Great collection Davide.
This was one venue I thought about doing once but never did.

The trouble with finding information about it lies in the fact it has been misnamed in the Elvis world overtime. It wasn't called the "Sports Arena". It was called "The Arena" or sometimes "the Philadelphia Arena. It was located at 4530 Market Street and burned down in 1983.
Here is what Wikipedia has on it

The Philadelphia Arena was an arena used mainly for sporting events located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The building, originally named the Philadelphia Ice Palace and Auditorium, was located at 4530 Market Street, next to what would become the WFIL TV Studio which broadcast American Bandstand. It was built by George F. Pawling, of George F. Pawling & Co., Engineers and Contractors, and opened on Saturday, February 14, 1920. The first event was two nights later, Monday, February 16, 1920, a college hockey game between the Yale Bulldogs and Princeton Tigers; the Bulldogs won, 4–0, before a crowd of over 4,000 despite the fact that the arena had only one small entrance at the time.

The Tyrrell Era
Jules Mastbaum, owner of a movie theater chain (The Stanley Company of America), acquired the building in 1925 and re-named it the Arena. In 1927 the Arena was purchased by Rudy Freed and Maurice Fishman who operated the facility until 1934, when the their partnership was placed in receivership. In 1929, Peter A. Tyrrell (1896–1973) joined the Arena as boxing matchmaker and subsequently became the facility’s publicist. In 1934 Tyrrell was named a friendly receiver-in-equity by George Welsh, a federal judge. Tyrrell became general manager of the Arena and served in that capacity until 1958, returning the corporation to profitability and enriching the variety of public entertainment.[1]

Historic Events
The arena was the site of several historic sporting events, including the professional debut of Sonja Henie, fresh from her triumph in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Roy Rogers, cowboy movie star, performed in his first rodeo at the Philadelphia arena in 1943. The Roy Rogers Rodeo played the Arena every season for more than 20 years, and in 1946, when a young cowgirl died after riding a bucking bronco, her funeral was held there. Rogers and the Sons of Pioneers sang "Roundup in the Sky," and after the closing prayer, everybody rode out to the cemetery. It was also the home of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet. Professionally, the arena was the home of the Philadelphia Quakers of the NHL in their only season, 1930-1931, as well as the main home of seveal minor league hockey teams such as the Philadelphia Arrows, the Philadelphia Rockets and the Philadelphia Ramblers, as well as the Philadelphia Warriors and part-time home of the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA.

The arena was also a major venue for boxing and wrestling before the opening of The Spectrum. Throughout the history of the Arena, such legends as Sugar Ray Robinson, Lew Tendler, Gene Tunney, Joe Frazier and Primo Carnera fought there. Several championship wrestling matches occurred there, both for the NWA and the WWWF (including Stan Stasiak winning the WWWF championship belt in 1973, the only time until 1977 the belt ever changed hands outside of Madison Square Garden). Roller Derby also was held there, through the team named the Philadelphia Warriors, not connected with the basketball team, owned by Bill Griffiths, the owner of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds and Roller Games.

Political and Other Events
The Arena was not used as much for political and other events, as those events tended to be held at Convention Hall. However, many of the city's mayoral inauguration parties were held there. Evangelist Billy Sunday spoke there, and before the United States entered World War II, Charles A. Lindbergh gave a speech before an America First Committee Meeting.

Triangle Publications
In 1947 the Arena was sold to Triangle Publications, along with the NBA franchise and the Philadelphia Warriors Basketball team. This transaction made TV station WFIL-TV, owned by Triangle Publications, the first joint ownership of a major professional sports team and TV station. In 1958, a group headed by Tyrrell purchased the Arena from the Walter Annenberg Foundation, to which ownership had been transferred by Triangle Publications. At the time of Tyrrell’s retirement in 1965, the Arena building was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.

Final years
The building fell out of popular use in the 1970s, due to the building of the Spectrum in 1967. In 1977, the building was auctioned off and renamed in honor of Martin Luther King. The arena was finally destroyed by arson on August 24, 1983. As of 2007, the former site of the arena now contains a housing complex, adjacent to the former TV studio which has become the Ron Brown Commerce Center. The site is located in West Philadelphia, on Market Street between 45th and 46th Streets.

I beleive there's photos of Jim Morrison and the doors there floating around and a boot of the show

Here are few pix I've found and an article from the NY Times from Jan 25, 1920

[JamesVRoy]

here is the site now, the Market St. block between 45th and 46th

[Mississippi]

Hi JamesVRoy,

many thanks for story and pictures.

Mississippi

[Mississippi]

What's the name of the Philadelphia hotel, where Elvis slept ?

Mississippi

[davide]

Thanks for the info on the venue James.



Two shots from the Arena 57

Davide

[davide]

Here are two new images from this time

(1)

(2)
Close up version of (1)

(3)

(4)
Close up version of (3)

Here is the link http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Early-ELVIS-PRESLEY-REAL-PHOTOS-from-PRIVATE-COLLEC_W0QQitemZ310200505664QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4839641540#ht_1007wt_1167

Thanks Davide

[debtd1]

WOW!!!!!!

[Terry]

Fantastic !!!!!!!!!

Thnx Davide

[davide]

Davide

[BrandtMichaels]

On a random side note. Jimmy Velvet is wearing the famous green bolero jacket of Elvis'.

[davide]

From a magazine cover. Looks to be taken about the same time as the previously posted photo below.(Rock N Roll Stars No.3)




Davide

[photocollector73]

found this in my collection.
Got the photo from a person who sold the original transparency.

[photocollector73]

found this in my collection.
Got the photo from a person who sold the original transparency.