Customer Reviews

God Bless the Spectrum: America's Showplace in Philadelphia, 1967-2009

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book brings back some good memories of times I spent at the Spectrum. I was at a good number of the 53 Grateful Dead shows, Flyers games at tons of other events. The back story is great and the pictures make this a nice book. The only negative comment is in reference to page 112, which shows a picture of Robby Steinhardt from Kansas identified as Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, as he 'shreds on his violin'. Nice highlights of the infamous Flyers vs. Soviet Army team in 1976. Tell it to the czar.

The Philadelphia Spectrum was dubbed "America's Showplace" and for a while, it certainly was.... this is a wonderful book that reviews the 40+ years of the Spectrum's history - and what a history it's been! The Spectrum was indeed the "big event" venue in Philadelphia, and the memories of this wonderful venue are well-documented in this extraordinary book. From the "home team" Flyers Stanley Cups and great playoff and regular-season games, the 76ers great years with Wilt, Billy C, Doctor J, and Sir Charles, the WWE, NCAA, and other great athletic events, there has been LOTS of wonderful athletic history at the Spectrum.

The icons of Rock & roll all have played the Spectrum, and there are terrific photos of many of them; concerts by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, CSN, and many more superstar acts are shown in wonderful photographs - many by Roger Barone, the Spectrum employee-turned- photographer, who used his unique access and knowledge of the inner workings of the building to deliver some fantastic on-stage and off-stage candid shots of the superstars of rock. These photos are worth the price of the book all by themselves.

Anyone who has ever attended an event at the Spectrum would be well-served to pick up this book; the many memories seem to literally jump off the pages. The Spectrum was the entertainment center of Philadelphia for many years, and once it's gone, these memories (and this book) will become even more valuable as time goes on.

I bought this book for my husband as a Father's Day gift. Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, we spent a lot of time at the Spectrum going to rock concerts and sporting events. This book was a wonderful tribute to the place, with nothing left out! Lots of terrific photographs and descriptive commentary, which brought back countless memories. It's a fabulous tribute to a great venue. My husband is not the biggest reader, but he loved it because of the incredible full page photographs of both the building, the musicians and the sports legends featured. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who grew up in Philly in the 1970s thru now. It makes you realize that all those memories you had really did happen! We will miss the Spectrum when they tear it down later this year, but this book lets us keep part of it alive.

I was given this book not knowing anything about the Spectrum. I was surprised at how interesting a book about a building's history would be. It was a very easy read full of interesting facts and figures on the histroy of this well used and obviously loved Philadelphia building. It has seen many important sporting events as well as musical shows over it's 40 plus years as America's Showplace. I did enjoy reading this and I was mostly impressed with the many images that filled the pages of Iconic sports figures and Rock Legends. This book captures the spirit of the Athletes, Entertainers and the viewers in a way that makes you feel like you have been a part of the experience of this soon to be gone Legendary Arena.

Fred H.

Very satisfied with this. Great look into the past and all of the history the Spectrum holds. I bought it for my dad who used to work security there and it was great seeing him reminisce about some of the events while flipping through the pages.

As a life-long Philadelphia sports fan, I was delighted to get this book. It brought back so many wonderful memories of the greatest sports arena in Philadelphia history. The articles were well-written and interesting and the photos were top-notch. Having this book is part of preserving history......Thanks

This book brought back so many memories--concerts, sports games, city wins and losses. Just looking at the pictures is fun. It's on my coffee table now.

The book brought back many memories of games and shows that were attended by us at the Spectrum. It was well done and included sports and concerts.

Brings back a lot of memories. Most good. The story about Pelle Lindbergh was particularly emotional for me. This is a must have for any Philadelphia Sports Fan. Some pictures of old school Van Halen, and many acts that are no longer with us such as Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.