Madison Square Garden
Sandra Schneider
Molloy College
Madison Square Garden
It was 1879 the intersection of Twenty-third Street crossed both Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan where the land we know as Madison Square Garden all began. This landmark was named after the fourth president of the United States James Madison. The land once home to wilderness, coach and horse, eventually railroad systems and a park. This particular area was known as “the Central Point of life and splendor in uptown New York” (Durso, 1979). Once home to an unofficial baseball team that later moved to New Jersey we can see the evolution of sports played in the Garden. In 1871 the “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt moved his railroad sixteen blocks north of Grand Central Terminal.
P.T. Barnum leased the land from the railroad station and decided to build a twenty-eight foot brick wall creating an outdoor arena with wooden seats and stage inside. It is here where for a sum of money people came to see shows of all kind. Japanese acrobats, cowboy and Indian shows, animals in a circus show perform. Barnum became a successful businessman took this collaboration of entertainment on the road. Leaving the land abandon a new person took over the lease.
A man by the name Gilmore took over the land transforming it into gardens. He put in plants and statues. The facilities were used for a more sophisticated audience. This was where important balls and functions would play out. The home of dog shows and flower contests. When the winter turned the outdoor arena became a lack of entertainment. This required a void to fill the long winter. It was Gilmore who decided he would turn the area into a boxing facility. This was a huge leap of faith since during this time the laws stated contention with fists was illegal. Gilmore had his men dress in tights and wear gloves. History tells us this is what gave boxing its true rules as a sport. In London the laws were written for three-minute rounds, a twenty-four foot ring and the wearing of gloves (Durso, 1979).
The next leaser of the land W.M. Tileson decided to add his flavor to the arena by adding a riding school, archery range, lawn tennis and an ice carnival (Durso, 1979).
The death of Commodore Vanderbilt left the land in the hands of his son William. William decided to use the area where the railroad was to create an athletic center and leave some of the existing forms of entertainment. May thirty-first 1879 the new official name for the area became Madison Square Garden. The unpredictable weather was making it harder and harder for the Garden to have shows that would provide a constant flow of revenue. Some wealthy individuals joined hands with Vanderbilt to gain monetary funds to start a project in order to construct a brand new larger Madison Square Garden. The plan was to do construction while maintaining the current arena for entertainment and revenues.
The inventions of electric and many new modern inventions paved ideas to make a new facility that would wow everyone. Unfortunately, with the unstable economy investors feared the money collected to build this new Madison Square Garden with be a huge financial mistake; who would utilize the facility when people didn’t have money to spend on entertainment?
Standford White and John Pierpont Morgan decided it was a risk they were willing to take. The demolition of the old facility started in the year 1889. The structure was two hundred feet on one side and four hundred and eighty-five on the other with a height of three hundred and twenty feet. The structure was yellow brick and white Pompeian terra-cotta (Durso, 1979). The facility could seat eight thousand people and it was enclosed with an eighty-foot ceiling. The facility consisted of a theater, concert hall, restaurant, and a roof area allowing a view of Fifth Avenue, an elevator and a roof garden. The opening night turnout superseded any expectation anyone could have imagined, with seven thousand participants. This was a temporary success as only the wealthy frequented the facility. The establishment was losing more money then was coming in. The decision was made in 1908 to put the facility on the market. A real-estate company purchased the facility and kept it for five years until they foreclosed on the property. New York Life took over but with the war going on no one seemed to have the funds for entertainment. Barely sustaining itself it reached the year 1920, the war was finally over and Jimmy Walker and Tex Rickard decided to lease the facility for ten years and have a go at its ownership. The real-estate company decided to cut short the lease. Tex Rickard had a vision of his own for a new Madison Square Garden. Some close friends and millionaires made a very generous donation of six million to support this vision.
Heading twenty-five blocks uptown where the old trolley barn once stood, a seventy-five square foot the new Madison Square Garden went up. Rickard decided to keep all the traditional events that followed the Garden through its ups and downs. The boxing, circus, dog show and flower shows but he would add something new. In Canada the sport ice hockey was entertaining folks and so in went an ice rink. In 1926 this led to the lease and new home of New York Rangers. After the games the rink was opened to the public for ice-skating. In addition they made an area for bicycling races. Sadly, the inspiration for this successful Madison Square Garden died suddenly of appendicitis. The demise on Rickard and the depression was a downward spiral for the garden.
John Kilpatrick the new president of the garden decided to make it his mission to save the arena eager to find a new thrill to present audiences. Starting out with college basketball games for N.Y. City College and then to the Knickerbockers basketball team and Basketball Association of America. Basketball was a new winter sport to entertain spectators. During this time there were enough events to support a weekly calendar of events.
The success of the stadium caused the audience to multiple to the point that it was unsafe to house specters. The decision was made to move the Garden yet again. The location would be above Penn Station and the facility would encompass business offices, sports, entertainment, theaters and expositions. The arena opened February 11th 1968 and had 20,244 seats. The facility was a huge success and its location was prime.
Since the opening of the Madison Square Garden in this location the facility has been renovated twice once in 1989 and again in 2011. It continues to be the home of the New York Rangers and the abbreviated name New York Knicks. Many concerts, circuses, shows and attraction continue to lease the facility. The facility continues to be one of the biggest arenas for events around the world. This location is where I have the fondest of memories from my childhood. I went to my first circus, ice show and attended many Ranger games with my family. My hope is to someday be able to give these great memories to my children. Choosing this facility to research and understanding the evolution of its presence has given me a even greater reason to love Madison Square Garden.
References
Durso, J. (1979). Madison Square Garden 100 Years of History. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Sandra Schneider
Molloy College
Madison Square Garden
It was 1879 the intersection of Twenty-third Street crossed both Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan where the land we know as Madison Square Garden all began. This landmark was named after the fourth president of the United States James Madison. The land once home to wilderness, coach and horse, eventually railroad systems and a park. This particular area was known as “the Central Point of life and splendor in uptown New York” (Durso, 1979). Once home to an unofficial baseball team that later moved to New Jersey we can see the evolution of sports played in the Garden. In 1871 the “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt moved his railroad sixteen blocks north of Grand Central Terminal.
P.T. Barnum leased the land from the railroad station and decided to build a twenty-eight foot brick wall creating an outdoor arena with wooden seats and stage inside. It is here where for a sum of money people came to see shows of all kind. Japanese acrobats, cowboy and Indian shows, animals in a circus show perform. Barnum became a successful businessman took this collaboration of entertainment on the road. Leaving the land abandon a new person took over the lease.
A man by the name Gilmore took over the land transforming it into gardens. He put in plants and statues. The facilities were used for a more sophisticated audience. This was where important balls and functions would play out. The home of dog shows and flower contests. When the winter turned the outdoor arena became a lack of entertainment. This required a void to fill the long winter. It was Gilmore who decided he would turn the area into a boxing facility. This was a huge leap of faith since during this time the laws stated contention with fists was illegal. Gilmore had his men dress in tights and wear gloves. History tells us this is what gave boxing its true rules as a sport. In London the laws were written for three-minute rounds, a twenty-four foot ring and the wearing of gloves (Durso, 1979).
The next leaser of the land W.M. Tileson decided to add his flavor to the arena by adding a riding school, archery range, lawn tennis and an ice carnival (Durso, 1979).
The death of Commodore Vanderbilt left the land in the hands of his son William. William decided to use the area where the railroad was to create an athletic center and leave some of the existing forms of entertainment. May thirty-first 1879 the new official name for the area became Madison Square Garden. The unpredictable weather was making it harder and harder for the Garden to have shows that would provide a constant flow of revenue. Some wealthy individuals joined hands with Vanderbilt to gain monetary funds to start a project in order to construct a brand new larger Madison Square Garden. The plan was to do construction while maintaining the current arena for entertainment and revenues.
The inventions of electric and many new modern inventions paved ideas to make a new facility that would wow everyone. Unfortunately, with the unstable economy investors feared the money collected to build this new Madison Square Garden with be a huge financial mistake; who would utilize the facility when people didn’t have money to spend on entertainment?
Standford White and John Pierpont Morgan decided it was a risk they were willing to take. The demolition of the old facility started in the year 1889. The structure was two hundred feet on one side and four hundred and eighty-five on the other with a height of three hundred and twenty feet. The structure was yellow brick and white Pompeian terra-cotta (Durso, 1979). The facility could seat eight thousand people and it was enclosed with an eighty-foot ceiling. The facility consisted of a theater, concert hall, restaurant, and a roof area allowing a view of Fifth Avenue, an elevator and a roof garden. The opening night turnout superseded any expectation anyone could have imagined, with seven thousand participants. This was a temporary success as only the wealthy frequented the facility. The establishment was losing more money then was coming in. The decision was made in 1908 to put the facility on the market. A real-estate company purchased the facility and kept it for five years until they foreclosed on the property. New York Life took over but with the war going on no one seemed to have the funds for entertainment. Barely sustaining itself it reached the year 1920, the war was finally over and Jimmy Walker and Tex Rickard decided to lease the facility for ten years and have a go at its ownership. The real-estate company decided to cut short the lease. Tex Rickard had a vision of his own for a new Madison Square Garden. Some close friends and millionaires made a very generous donation of six million to support this vision.
Heading twenty-five blocks uptown where the old trolley barn once stood, a seventy-five square foot the new Madison Square Garden went up. Rickard decided to keep all the traditional events that followed the Garden through its ups and downs. The boxing, circus, dog show and flower shows but he would add something new. In Canada the sport ice hockey was entertaining folks and so in went an ice rink. In 1926 this led to the lease and new home of New York Rangers. After the games the rink was opened to the public for ice-skating. In addition they made an area for bicycling races. Sadly, the inspiration for this successful Madison Square Garden died suddenly of appendicitis. The demise on Rickard and the depression was a downward spiral for the garden.
John Kilpatrick the new president of the garden decided to make it his mission to save the arena eager to find a new thrill to present audiences. Starting out with college basketball games for N.Y. City College and then to the Knickerbockers basketball team and Basketball Association of America. Basketball was a new winter sport to entertain spectators. During this time there were enough events to support a weekly calendar of events.
The success of the stadium caused the audience to multiple to the point that it was unsafe to house specters. The decision was made to move the Garden yet again. The location would be above Penn Station and the facility would encompass business offices, sports, entertainment, theaters and expositions. The arena opened February 11th 1968 and had 20,244 seats. The facility was a huge success and its location was prime.
Since the opening of the Madison Square Garden in this location the facility has been renovated twice once in 1989 and again in 2011. It continues to be the home of the New York Rangers and the abbreviated name New York Knicks. Many concerts, circuses, shows and attraction continue to lease the facility. The facility continues to be one of the biggest arenas for events around the world. This location is where I have the fondest of memories from my childhood. I went to my first circus, ice show and attended many Ranger games with my family. My hope is to someday be able to give these great memories to my children. Choosing this facility to research and understanding the evolution of its presence has given me a even greater reason to love Madison Square Garden.
References
Durso, J. (1979). Madison Square Garden 100 Years of History. New York: Simon & Schuster.