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Resistance See other Resistance Articles Title: Public invited to watch Coliseum take final bow (Good opportunity to watch a building get 'pulled.') -NEW HAVEN — The public can watch next week’s explosive demise of the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum from atop the Temple Street Garage. Private parties are also expected to mark the destruction of the three-decade old structure Jan. 20, at 7:30 a.m. But if you lack one of those invitations, you can park for free at the 1,200-space garage from 5 to 9 a.m., listen to The Cobalt Rhythm Kings band and pick up some free coffee or hot chocolate as you watch 6,000 tons of steel come crashing down. For those who feel the need to spend a longer time reminiscing about the Coliseum, a visit to Artspace might satisfy you. The gallery is one of two official places where tenants living in apartments close to the Coliseum have been offered a place to sleep or just hang out before the massive structure on George Street is imploded by Demolition Dynamics of Tennessee. Artspace, which is located on the corner of Crown and Orange streets, will be open starting at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 through 8 p.m. Jan. 20 and has extended an invitation to the general public to celebrate the closing of its show, "Don’t Know Much About History," while it will also bring people together overnight to reflect on events at the Coliseum. The city will set up a safety perimeter close to the Coliseum, starting at 5 p.m. Jan. 19. By 6 a.m. Jan. 20, the roads within and leading to the perimeter will be closed to all traffic, with foot traffic cut off by 6:30 a.m. The perimeter extends from the edge of the Temple Street Garage to Union Avenue, which is east of the Knights of Columbus Museum, and from Crown Street to South Frontage Road. Derek Slap, spokesman for Mayor John DeStefano Jr., said portions of Interstate 91, Interstate 95 and Route 34 will be closed for several minutes, using a moving road block, just before and during the implosion. The city is also asking that all cars parked in the George Street Garage and the surface parking lots on George Street be moved outside the safety perimeter by 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Helen Kauder, director of Artspace, said tenants from the Residences at 9th Square (60 units), Trader’s Block Condos (20 units) and Liberty Safe Haven Apartments (60 units), can bring their pillows and sleeping bags and spend the night at the gallery. Those residents must be out of their apartments for three hours Saturday morning. How much sleep they will get is debatable, since movies with a historic theme will be shown continuously as part of the exhibit and as entertainment for the public. They will include: "Smoke Signals," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Dr. Strangelove," "The Last Metro," "Apocalypse Now," and "History of the World Part I." Kauder said there will be an open mike at Artspace to encourage people to tell their favorite stories about the Coliseum. She said they are reaching out to people who worked there or who came to hockey games or concerts. "We are going to reach out to different people ... but we are also looking for people to come forward," Kauder said. It’s not intended as a gripe session about what could have been, she said. "It’s oral history. We want to capture moments when the building went up and while the building was active." The residents who will need to be relocated, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 20, may also hang out at the carriage house at the Residences at Ninth Square on Orange Street. Slap said, with the exception of the three named apartment buildings, other residents within the perimeter can remain in their homes during the implosion. He also reminded residents that the Temple Medical Center behind the garage will not be impacted by the implosion and will be open for appointments. The Temple Street Garage is always open 24 hours a day, but the free parking ends at 9 a.m. Jan. 20.
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