Another piece of metro-Detroit lore will be closing up shop very soon, before the wrecking ball bashes its way through 30 years of semi-glorious history. No, I am not talking about the decaying mess on Michigan & Trumbull of Tiger Stadium, but instead, the ghosttown of the Pontiac/M-59 corridor, the Pontiac Silverdome.

After being inaccurate, telling folks that the Silverdome’s last event was the July 31st Warped Tour date, I always feel bad. Ok, now that I am over feeling like Mitch Albom reporting on Michigan State at the Final Four; I found out that the Silverdome has scraped by since that date with a few other things. I didn’t realize that the Warped Tour wasn’t even the last concert the venue hosted... that was an outdoor festival featuring the always hardcore Good Charlotte a few weeks later.

But January 7, 2006 brought the true last event the Silverdome would ever host, their final monster truck show. No more 12 dollar tickets, and three mile back ups on M-59. And no more exhaust fumes that either gag the patron, or get them high in the process. Even though the Silverdome may try to throw a few events in for the Super Bowl, the monster truck show was the last real event being hosted by the venue.

But with the impending wrecking ball heading the Silverdome’s way, it's time to share my memories of the massive golf dome that brought so many events, good and bad, to Pontiac for nearly 30 years.

Remember these moments:

• Hosting the Super Bowl in January 1982 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Montana gave the crowd a stellar day, but the fans had to walk out in 6 inches of snow on their way out of the Silverdome. Ok, I was like 5, but some of you might remember it.
• January 1987: My first memory of the Silverdome, I won a basketball shooting contest on the Silverdome court, during halftime of a Pistons game. Ok, you wouldn’t have remembered that, but I did and I won a gift certificate to Dunham’s. I bought some Air Jordans and called it a day. I can’t say the rest of the memories went as well as that one did…
• March 1987: Wrestlemania 3. Most eternal 8 year olds will remember this event. This was the day where Hulk Hogan bodyslammed 500 pound (and acclaimed “Princess’ Bride actor”) Andre The Giant. Over 93,000 people watched in what still remains one of the largest attended events in sports (or whatever you want to call WWF wrestling) history.
• September 19, 1987, the Pope came there too. Something else I don't remember...
• March 1988: I was one of 61,000 people to watch a Pistons game against the Celtics. From the upper deck, Isiah Thomas never looked so small. But I won't ever get the opportunity to go to a basketball game for 5 bucks again either.
• The roof caved in after a major storm in 1989, and left the Silverdome almost as tattered looking as the Superdome was after Hurricane Katrina.
• There were big shows from Michael Jackson, U2, and other artists. The Silverdome hosted numerous shows from the Rolling Stones, which people loved until they got into the parking lot, and had to wait two hours in line to get back onto the highway.
• The huge New Year’s Eve show in 1999 with Metallica, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock. 54,000 people watched Metallica play their best set in a long time, and watched as Kid Rock exploded into the limelight that year. There hasn’t been a New Year’s show to beat it since.
• The numerous Warped Tours, where high schoolers learned how to get a bad tan that lasted for three weeks.
• The 25 years of the losing Lions. But unlike at Ford Field, the Lions actually won a few games there, and did get to a few playoff berths. Screw the offensive coordinators, bring back Wayne Fontes!
• The numerous fights in the stands and in the concourses at the Silverdome during Lions games. If you walked out without seeing two drunks fight; you left a disappointed person. I know I did…
• And of course, the monster truck shows. The fumes, cheap seats, and fans with bad teeth.

Ah, the memories of the Silverdome. As you can tell there were some good times, and some that we would rather just forget about. The site will probably become an industrial park, or perhaps a Super Wal-Mart in the meantime. There have been plans for a casino among other ideas. But who knows what the Silverdome site will become in the wake of it being torn down.

No matter what happens to the dome, it will always be remembered for the ups and downs the venue had. But the Lions and the monster truck shows are heading to Ford Field, so the fun (or misery, whichever way you lean) will still be around. The Silverdome may leave us soon, but the memories (good or bad) will live on.

I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this week, so I'll be recuperating with my feet up, watching bad TV and thinking about all the things that irritate me. Until next time, Art.