BUFFALO
Wake attendees pay Aud final repects
Pieces of Memorial Auditorium lay in a coffin amid old hockey pads and gloves, a pair of ’60s-style ice skates, ’80s Buffalo Sabres ticket stubs and jerseys at an Irish wake in the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery Sunday evening.
Outside the fourth-story window next to the coffin, the south wall was the only piece of the once-thriving downtown Buffalo stadium standing.
The wake was held in the Aud’s honor.
“Every time I see [the Aud] now, it’s like a piece is torn out of me,” said Dave Roberts, a 54-year-old Getzville resident who has driven by the demolition site more than three times each weekend, trying not to miss his last glimpse of the local landmark.
His fondest memories of the Aud vary, he said, making it hard to narrow them down to one.
Roberts saw ice skating there when he was 8 years old. In his 20s, Roberts recalled looking into the vast crowd as part of Canisius College’s pep band.
When he really thought about it, Roberts homed in on his best memory: sitting on stage with the Eagles.
The Irish Wake for the Aud was a fundraiser for the Kevin Guest House, which provides temporary refuge for cancer patients. At the event’s silent auction, the last trio of blue seats was sold to the highest bidder.
More than 100 people attended the $25-per-person event, sharing stories of their old Aud days. Most came dressed in appropriate wake attire: the men in button-down shirts and khaki pants, many of the women in casual dresses. But one Aud fan is too big a Sabres fan to comply with a dress code.
Gasport resident Cory Miller, 28, wore a blue and gold jersey with a pair of Converse All-Stars sneakers. He dressed as he would on game night, excluding his khaki pants.
“I was going to wear my old Mike Foligno jersey, but that would have only covered half of my body,” he laughed.
Miller was 16 when he attended the second-to-last Sabres game in 1997. He said everyone wanted a piece of the building, and he recalled everyone around him that night had screwdrivers in their pockets just trying to get their piece of its history.
“One guy even tried to run off with the ticket podium. I remember police chased him down the street for that thing,” Miller said. “Did I take a piece? No, not me. I still have my ticket stub, but being a teenager at the time, I’m sure my dad wouldn’t have wanted to bail me out of jail.”
The story reads the same today. Hundreds line the downtown fence trying to take home a piece of Buffalo history before its complete demolition later this week.
Kenmore resident Barb Johnson, 54, parked by the site Sunday, talking to her husband, Ed, about the memories they shared.
She remembered the time they brought their three children to an ice skating event. When they were looking for a quick way to get to the other side of the arena, they decided to go via the orange seats.
As they were walking through the highest section of seats, the lights shut off unexpectedly.
“I am scared of heights, so I was terrified,” Barb Johnson said. “We were way up there. I just grabbed my kids’ hands and held on tight.
“The Aud is or was one of those icons of the city. It’s a fond farewell. Hopefully, there will be something just like it in its place.”
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments