ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE CITY
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Elias Mena
Madison Square Garden, also known as the Mecca of Basketball and the World's Most Famous Arena, is one of the most known structures in New York City, and even the world. It is known for being one of the most expensive sporting venues in the world, but what most people don't know is its deep history and its existence as something much more than just a sports arena.
1874-1890
The Early Years
The Early Years
The original Madison Square Garden was not even "Madison Square Garden" at first. This is because like most things in their early stages at the time, there were a few changes in ownership and control. It was initially owned by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. The first name for the structure was the Great Roman Hippodrome. Following that, the man who leased it at the time P.T. Barnum conducted shows here and he then gave it one of the least favorable name changes, at least in my opinion. The Great Roman Hippodrome became Barnum's Classical and Geological Hippodrome. This name was too long to pronounce and was definitely more extravagant than the first name.
Not too long after that, the arena was leased to Patrick Gilmore, who was a band leader. He hosted many musical performances as well as beauty shows in the venue and it is what he became known for at the time. He was the first person in control to coin the garden name by renaming it Gilmore's Garden. Gilmore also hosted boxing events, but since they were illegal for the time period, he advertised them as exhibitions.
The grandson of Commodore Vanderbilt, William K Vanderbilt, took control of thee venue and ended up naming it what we all know today, Madison Square Garden. He kept the Garden part, and added in the location of the venue, which was in E26th St and Madison Square. This was also the site for the Christmas Tree lighting before Rockefeller center [1]. Due to the roofless design of this structure, It was not practical for most events, as it would immediately become useless during in climate weather or hot New York summers. Vanderbilt eventually sold to a syndicate that had members such as Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. They eventually demolished the building and constructed the new and improved Madison Square Garden on the spot.
Not too long after that, the arena was leased to Patrick Gilmore, who was a band leader. He hosted many musical performances as well as beauty shows in the venue and it is what he became known for at the time. He was the first person in control to coin the garden name by renaming it Gilmore's Garden. Gilmore also hosted boxing events, but since they were illegal for the time period, he advertised them as exhibitions.
The grandson of Commodore Vanderbilt, William K Vanderbilt, took control of thee venue and ended up naming it what we all know today, Madison Square Garden. He kept the Garden part, and added in the location of the venue, which was in E26th St and Madison Square. This was also the site for the Christmas Tree lighting before Rockefeller center [1]. Due to the roofless design of this structure, It was not practical for most events, as it would immediately become useless during in climate weather or hot New York summers. Vanderbilt eventually sold to a syndicate that had members such as Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. They eventually demolished the building and constructed the new and improved Madison Square Garden on the spot.
1890 - 1925
A New Beginning
A New Beginning
Demolition for the original Madison Square Garden began in 1989 and just a short year later, Madison Square Garden was reopened with a breath of fresh air. One fun fact about this is that the well known architect of this garden, Stanford White, had an apartment in the venue, and in 1906 was murdered in the rooftop restaurant for having an affair with a millionaire's actress wife. This murder and the sensationalism behind it became one of the first court trials of the century.
Since it now had a roof, it was now a far more practical location for sports. The structure, unlike the first one, was well known for hosting sports events. Boxing events were held here, both legal and Illegal. Legendary heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey knocked out Bill Brennan here in 1920 to name a matchup. while there were marathons and races held at the original location, in this one there were now indoor races taking place. The most surprising thing one can figure is that Madison Square Garden II was the home of the very first indoor american football games. The venue was home to many performances besides sports as well. It hosted orchestral performances, operas, the annual French Ball and the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey circus. The greatest thing to know, is that this location was the home of the Democratic National Convention at one point, where John W. Davis was nominated. The building was a breath of fresh air, but it was not much more successful than the first iteration of it. This lead to its demolition and move elsewhere in the city. Where this building used to be, the New York Life Building was built, which still stands there till this very day. |
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1925 - 1968
Cult Of Personality
Cult Of Personality
By the time the next iteration of Madison Square Garden was ready to be built, the United States was in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, the period between the World Wars when the economy of the US was at its best. Show business was at an all time high as was spectator sports. So what better place in New York City to relocate than to broadway?
The Garden, now located in Eighth Avenue in between W49th and W50th was as extravagant as ever. The architectural design resembled that of a theater, square in design and spanning at least 4 stories tall. It was huge indoors and elegant as well. The inside also had a hockey rink and a basketball court, as the garden was now home to the New York Rangers and The New York Knickerbockers [2].
Speaking of the New York Knicks and basketball, this building was the site of the very first professional basketball game before the opening of it. This is why Madison Square Garden is referred to as the Mecca of Basketball today, because it was essentially the birthplace of professional basketball. Regardless of the fact, The New York Knicks haven't had much luck in the way of championships, but have been one of, and is currently, the most valuable team in professional basketball [5].
The Garden, now located in Eighth Avenue in between W49th and W50th was as extravagant as ever. The architectural design resembled that of a theater, square in design and spanning at least 4 stories tall. It was huge indoors and elegant as well. The inside also had a hockey rink and a basketball court, as the garden was now home to the New York Rangers and The New York Knickerbockers [2].
Speaking of the New York Knicks and basketball, this building was the site of the very first professional basketball game before the opening of it. This is why Madison Square Garden is referred to as the Mecca of Basketball today, because it was essentially the birthplace of professional basketball. Regardless of the fact, The New York Knicks haven't had much luck in the way of championships, but have been one of, and is currently, the most valuable team in professional basketball [5].
The New York Rangers on the other hand, had a trio of championships during this era of the Garden and all came within 3 decades of one another [6]. Brothers Bill and Bun Cook and Frank Boucher were three notable members of the Rangers in the early years that were able to bring home the Stanley Cup to New York. These three were integral to the early success of the Rangers and are the first notable lineup for the Rangers known as The Bread Line.
The third garden was not just for sports. Just like its predecessors, it hosted other events that were not sports related. In fact, the garden was now a site for controversy, which adds more history than people may have bargained for. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt held a rally here for his presidential run and even held the last campaign speech here before that year's election. This was also the site where, 26 years later, actress Marilyn Monroe famously sang happy birthday to President John F Kennedy.
There were many other musical performances that took place here as well. Film screenings were held here, most notably the anniversary of Around the World in 80 Days Which also featured a performance by Monroe on an elephant. One of the most important performances held here however was the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, who even forced the New York Rangers to play all of their playoff games in 1928 on the road to make space for the circus that year.
The controversy in Madison Square Garden was undeniable any the time World War II came along. Tensions were running high and the Great Depression was in full swing. People were beginning to take sides on the war despite whatever side their country was on. In 1937, an Anti-Nazi rally was held at Madison Square Garden. This was one of the ways in which the public decided to raise the morale of those affected by the war and to raise a sense of resistance. There were numerous attendees there to denounce the hateful ways of the Nazi regime but in the end, money proved to prevail.
Not long after the Anti-Nazi rally, a Pro-Nazi rally was held at Madison Square Garden. This is something that had to dig somewhat deep to discover because this is something that even today, people want distanced from the venue. The rally was held in 1939 by a group of German americans known as the Bund Party, and the rally itself was spearheaded by German-American Fritz Julian Kuhn. The rally was so heated and rejected by those not in favor, that many anti-nazi protesters, including World War I veterans, gathered outside armed and ready to attack the exiting Nazi sympathizers. Due to an extremely well response by police, a huge riot that would have contained plenty of casualties was prevented, and a larger crisis was averted [7].
By the time the garden was known and making money beyond that which was expected, those in charge decided it was time for more, which unsurprisingly so meant another demolition and another relocation. This time however, both the demolition and the new relocation was hotly contested for a bevy of reasons. The demolition of this iteration, would without doubt be a risky one because of the fact that it was in the heart of Broadway, New York City's Theater District. The next issue came because the creation of the new Garden would be costly, millions of dollars worth of an investment that could potentially not live up to its expectations. Finally, the creation of this new garden meant the demolition of one of the city's most beloved pieces of architecture: Pennsylvania Station.
The 1960s
Fight For Penn Station
Fight For Penn Station
The original Pennsylvania Station
The protests were not so much against the creation of a fourth Madison Square Garden as they were about the demolition of Pennsylvania Station and the collateral damage that would come from demolishing the third Madison Square Garden. The advertisers from Madison Avenue were hired with the hope that the propaganda and ads that they put out would be able to help sway the public opinion in favor of creating Madison Square Garden over where Penn Station was at [9]. This was a thoughtful, but somewhat dire attempt to do so as the public still vehemently resisted against the idea of it. Amongst the protestors was Jane Jacobs, one of the most vocal protesters against this kind of action in New York City and architect Philip Johnson.
Besides protests at Penn Station, there were a few protests going on in broadway as well. The size of the structure that was the third Madison Square Garden meant that the wrecking crew would have to begin their demolition large and wide. This meant there was more room for destruction, which meant that classic architecture that we know and love today in our city could have been destroyed in the demolition as collateral, and some of it was [10]. However due to the efforts of some protestors, a lot of this architecture is still around.
The plan for the new and fourth Madison Square Garden would cost millions of dollars and that was not including the cost of the demolitions. This was an investment that investors were hoping they would get back once the venue opened up and began to produce. The protests help up, and some of the people who were going forward with the plans even felt regret from doing this to penn station [11]. The protesters demands fell on death ears however, as ultimately the plan prevailed and Penn Station was infamously demolished in favor of Madison Square Garden 4. Besides that, The demolition of the third Garden tore through some structures, but the theater district in its majority remained intact and the spot remained a parking lot for some time until it became Worldwide Plaza in 1989.
1968 - Present
Tomorrow and Onward
Tomorrow and Onward
The fourth and current Madison Square Garden resides between 7th and 8th ave from 31st to 33rd street. This is as close as it will ever be to a stadium being in the heart of New York City. This to me is one of the marvels of midtown manhattan. Like the Empire State building, it lights up differently depending on what is going on around the city or the world. It is the second oldest basketball arena.
The garden is run by The Madison Square Garden Company who also control Madison Square Garden Networks as well. The executive chairman is a man named James L. Dolan, a man who also owns the New York Knicks, the New York Liberty, and the New York Rangers and used to be the CEO of Cablevision [12]. Because of his ownership of teams, Dolan is not the most popular man amongst the fanbases, but regardless of the fact, he is the man in charge of things.
Almost immediately after the demolition of Penn Station, construction began on a new and improved Penn Station. The new Penn Station would be underground and would stay in the same location as a result. Since it was retaining its location, that means that it would span the underground of Madison Square Garden and because of it, the two have become synonymous.
The Knicks win their first championship at the Garden [13]
As far as sports, The success was immediate for the New York Knicks. They won two championships almost immediately after the move, their only two championships as a franchise behind Madison Square Garden lifer and former Knicks point guard Walt "Clyde" Frazier, who you may know as the model for Just for Men and is still with Madison Square Garden today as their play by play announcer. As you can see from the video, the Garden was beyond lively, a vibe that still exists in the garden today. Players from the home teams and elsewhere all the describe it the same way: There's nothing like it. The New York Knicks are still one of the most storied and valuable franchises despite many years without a championship.
Again the garden is the home of controversy, this time in sports. In 1985 the NBA introduced the new draft lottery system in which the worst teams in the league would have their names in envelopes and would be selected at random in order for the highest draft pick. The New York Knicks were the inaugural winners of this and they selected Patrick Ewing with the number one pick that year. The problem is that the Knicks were being accused of rigging the system with a frozen envelope, which would give away which envelope was theirs.
The reasoning behind it being that since the Knicks lacked stars, they weren't attracting many fans or wins so they needed something to boost both. Ewing would be joined by many other players, including rookie point guard Mark Jackson and small forward Bernard King. Although Ewing was a legend in his own right, he was never able to bring a championship back to New York, nor have the Knicks won a lottery since 1985. The controversial turn of events surrounding the lottery, and the fact that the Knicks have never been able to win the big one has come to be known as the Ewing Curse [14].
When it comes to hockey, the New York Rangers had some luck as well, with some time outside of the championship picture as well. They were able to capture a franchise fourth Stanley Cup championship in 1994, which for the time was great for the city. The reason for this is because, like the Knicks, the Rangers were considered to be cursed because they had gone through so many winless seasons, years without a championship and finally the team was able to get back to a championship and then some consistency as a team.
One of the biggest mainstays in pop culture has been professional wrestling. Its not surprising to know that the garden has been the host of many of their events, and some of the most hyped events of theirs happened in Madison Square Garden. What was surprising to know as an avid wrestling fan was that the inaugural WWE Wrestlemania, then WWF, took place at the garden. The main event featured a tag team match that saw Hulk Hogan team with Mr. T to defeat Paul Orndorff and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Wrestlemania is the biggest pay per view event of the year for WWE and arguably wrestling as a whole, but it is only one of the 4 marquee events that WWE promotes. The second of the four is Summerslam, which even today is dubbed as the Greatest Party of the Summer. The inaugural Summerslam featured many superstars and great matches, but the main event featured The Mega Powers, a team consisting of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage against the Mega Bucks, the team of Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase. The Mega Powers won the main event following interference from Miss Elizabeth, Macho Man's real life wife.
This garden was the first and only of the four to under go renovations, not once but twice. The first set of renovations went on for three years during the Ewing era of the Knicks from 1989 to 1991. This was great for the stadium because instead of tearing down and building up, they re-constructed what they had with what they could and brought in people. The second set of the renovations ironically occurred during a different culture shift from the Knicks nearly 20 years later at the start of Carmelo Anthony era. The renovation went on from 2011 to 2013 and began right around the time of the 4th NBA lockout. This was Ideal because construction can go on without games taking place at the garden. The changes to the arena were significant and the experience is now that much better within.
Today, Madison Square Garden has come a long way from its definitely humble roots. Remember the high risk high reward gamble of building the 4th garden? Well it definitely paid off because Madison Square Garden is known as one of the richest venues in the world and the world's greatest. Madison Square Garden, as of 2016 is worth 1.12 BILLION dollars. This is not counting the teams it houses, which are worth much more. This venue is without doubt the site of plenty of history in New York City that even expands past the city and into the world. My friends and I have been to the garden each at least once in our lifetime and hope to go to a Knicks or even a Rangers game sometime in the future. With its teams trending in the right direction and its importance to the city being unending despite being more than 100 years old, Madison Square Garden's future looks to be around for many more years beyond.
References
[1] Dykema, Peter W. “A Community Christmas: Suggestions for Town Christmas Celebrations.” Music Supervisors' Journal, 1 Nov. 1915, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/3383122?journalCode=mejb.
[2] “UNFORGETTABLE STARTS HERE.” Madison Square Garden | Official Site | New York City, www.msg.com/madison-square-garden.
[3] Various Photographers. “Madison Square Garden Images.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/voyage4passion/madison-square-garden/.
[4] Various Photographers. “Images.” Madison Square Garden Pictures, Getty Images, www.gettyimages.com/photos/madison-square-garden?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=madison%2Bsquare%2Bgarden&sort=mostpopular#license.
[5] “The Official Site of the New York Knicks.” New York Knicks, www.nba.com/knicks/.
[6] “Official New York Rangers Website.” NHL.com, www.nhl.com/rangers.
[7] Brooks, Dave. “Pro-Nazi Rally at MSG.” Amplify, Amplify, 19 Feb. 2016, ampthemag.com/the-real/intersections-pro-nazi-rally-at-madison-square-garden-1939/.
[8] Arbuckle, Alex. “What Penn Station Used to Look Like.” Mashable, Mashable, 20 July 2015, mashable.com/2015/07/20/original-penn-station/#.iBN0RwCrPqV.
[9] “Media Mentions: Penn Station on Mad Men |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/media-mentions-penn-station-on-mad-men/.
[10] “Theater District |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/preservation-history/theater-district/.
[11] “Preservation History in Quotes: Advocating for the Wrong Side of History |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/preservation-history-in-quotes-advocating-for-the-wrong-side-of-history/.
[12] “MSGNetworks.com.” MSGN, www.msgnetworks.com/
[13] User, smoki2323. “Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier 36 Pts,19 Ast, Nba Finals 1970 Knicks vs Lakers Game 7.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Jan. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYVjltXc5F8.
[14] Rosman, Melissa. “The Ewing Curse.” The State Times, 5 Feb. 2014, thestatetimes.com/2014/02/05/the-ewing-curse/.
[15] “Universal Championship.” WWE, WWE, www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/universal-championship.
- "The NYKnicks subreddit" reddit.com/r/nyknicks
- My friends and family
- My own experiences
[2] “UNFORGETTABLE STARTS HERE.” Madison Square Garden | Official Site | New York City, www.msg.com/madison-square-garden.
[3] Various Photographers. “Madison Square Garden Images.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/voyage4passion/madison-square-garden/.
[4] Various Photographers. “Images.” Madison Square Garden Pictures, Getty Images, www.gettyimages.com/photos/madison-square-garden?family=editorial&mediatype=photography&phrase=madison%2Bsquare%2Bgarden&sort=mostpopular#license.
[5] “The Official Site of the New York Knicks.” New York Knicks, www.nba.com/knicks/.
[6] “Official New York Rangers Website.” NHL.com, www.nhl.com/rangers.
[7] Brooks, Dave. “Pro-Nazi Rally at MSG.” Amplify, Amplify, 19 Feb. 2016, ampthemag.com/the-real/intersections-pro-nazi-rally-at-madison-square-garden-1939/.
[8] Arbuckle, Alex. “What Penn Station Used to Look Like.” Mashable, Mashable, 20 July 2015, mashable.com/2015/07/20/original-penn-station/#.iBN0RwCrPqV.
[9] “Media Mentions: Penn Station on Mad Men |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/media-mentions-penn-station-on-mad-men/.
[10] “Theater District |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/preservation-history/theater-district/.
[11] “Preservation History in Quotes: Advocating for the Wrong Side of History |.” NYPAP, www.nypap.org/preservation-history-in-quotes-advocating-for-the-wrong-side-of-history/.
[12] “MSGNetworks.com.” MSGN, www.msgnetworks.com/
[13] User, smoki2323. “Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier 36 Pts,19 Ast, Nba Finals 1970 Knicks vs Lakers Game 7.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Jan. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYVjltXc5F8.
[14] Rosman, Melissa. “The Ewing Curse.” The State Times, 5 Feb. 2014, thestatetimes.com/2014/02/05/the-ewing-curse/.
[15] “Universal Championship.” WWE, WWE, www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/universal-championship.
- "The NYKnicks subreddit" reddit.com/r/nyknicks
- My friends and family
- My own experiences