While Madison Square Garden is widely known as one of the leading athletic venues in the world, there are layers to its rich story. There have been four iterations of the storied arena and not all were known for athletics. In fact, it wasn't until the third version of the Garden was first constructed that it began to truly focus on its impact in sports and society.
The Concept
Tex Rickard was hot. the highly respected boxing promoter had recently drawn over 100,000 people to the Polo Grounds to watch the Jack Dempsey vs Luis Angel Firpo fight and had liked the attention that New York had brought. Seeing the possibilities, he decided to build an arena dedicated to boxing right in the heart of the city.
Over the next several months, he gathered a consortion of wealthy backers to fund his new arena. He often referred to this group as his "600 millionaires" and together they forked over the $4.75 million to build the new Madison Square Garden on the corner of 8th Avenue and 50th Street.
Thomas W. Lamb led the design team. The noted architect was famous for his movie theaters that were quickly becoming popular as the public became enamored with the silent movie era. His works such as the Fox Theatre in San Francisco and the Capitol Theatre in New York were so luxurious and spacious that they were often regarded as "movie palaces".
The Glory Years
After ground was broken on January 9, 1925, the third version of the storied Madison Square Garden opened almost a year later on December 15, 1925. With three levels and room for more than 18,000 for a boxing match, it looked like it could stand the test of time.
Unfortunately the House that Tex Built began to show its many flaws early on. Hockey was popular at the arena from the start, with both the New York Americans and Tex's Rangers beginning play in the arena's first decade, but the sight lines were poor. Many seated anywhere behind the first row of the side balcony had issues seeing all of the ice.
This was also in an era where the public was less informed on the dangers of smoking and guests had little issue smoking in the Garden while the games were being played. With the five families still running the city, many unruly gamblers often looked on in disgust at poor performances and let the players know their true feelings. In many ways, the Garden was a jungle.
Still, the arena fielded good teams and memorable moments. Both the Americans and Rangers had numerous future Hall of Famers skating for them in those days such as Billy Burch, Red Dalton, Frank Boucher and Bill Cook. The Rangers even won the Stanley Cup three times in that era (1928, 1933 and 1940), tightening their grip around the city's heart.
In addition to hosting numerous big name fighters such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson, the Garden became the Mecca of basketball. It hosted the first televised basketball game on February 28, 1940 between Fordham and the University of Pittsburgh and the first televised boxing match in color on March 19, 1954 between Joey Giardello and Willie Tony. When the Knicks began play in 1946, the arena became whole.
While other versions of Madison Square Garden have hosted the Democratic National Convention, the third version of the arena never did. However, it still hosted its share of gatherings in the political realm such as Marilyn Monroe's sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" to John F. Kennedy in 1962. It controversially hosted the German America Bund convention in 1939 with over 20,000 Nazi supporters in attendance. this sparked riots of American Jews in and around the arena, staining its once sterling reputation.
The Demise
In early 1960, Penn Station's owners announced that they had sold their property to the Madison Square Garden Corporation. Soon, demolition was underway of one of New York's most iconic structures. the Ranger's final game at the Madison Square Garden III was a 3-3 tie with the Red Wings on February 11, 1968. Two days later, the Westminster Dog Show held the final event ever held at the old arena. Today, the Worldwide Plaza stands in the spot where the Rangers and Knicks were founded and where so many memories were made and rivalries were forged.
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