 Interactive map of Philadelphia Arena | |
| Former names | Philadelphia Auditorium and Ice Palace (1920-1922) Martin Luther King Arena (1980-1983) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4530 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 39°57′29″N75°12′42″W / 39.957959°N 75.211726°W /39.957959; -75.211726 |
| Owner | George F. Pawling (1919-1922) Jules Mastbaum, Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger (1922-1925) |
| Capacity | 4,100 (permanent) (1922) 10,000 (boxing) (1922) 5,526 6,500 (76ers 1966) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 1919 |
| Opened | February 14, 1920 |
| Closed | August 24, 1983 (fire) |
| Demolished | August 24, 1983 |
| Builder | George F. Pawling & Company |
| Tenants | |
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ThePhiladelphia Arena was a sports arena and auditorium used mainly for sporting events located at 46th and Market Streets in WestPhiladelphia. The address of the building, originally named thePhiladelphia Auditorium and Ice Palace, was 4530 Market Street. The building stood next to what would become theWFIL TV studio that broadcastAmerican Bandstand. The Arena was the long time home to ice hockey in Philadelphia until the construction of the Spectrum in 1967. The Arena would be used through the early 1980s and closed in 1983.
George F. Pawling & Co. was awarded the contract the arena in November 1919 which included both the area at the southwest corner of 45th and Market Streets, as well as a one-story ice plant 45th and Ludlow Streets. It was built byGeorge F. Pawling, of George F. Pawling & Co., Engineers and Contractors and the arena owned and operated by Pawling's Philadelphia Auditorium and Ice Palace Corporation.
The arena featured 22,000 square feet of ice skating surface and was considered a premier venue at its time.[1]
The arena was to have opened on February 11, 1920 with a hockey game between the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton however it was postponed due to troubles with the ice plant.[2] It opened on Saturday, February 14, 1920, with a college hockey game betweenYale andPrinceton Tigers; the Bulldogs won, 4–0, before a crowd of over 4,000[3] which would have been larger but arena construction was still not complete.[4]
One of the first teams to make the Arena home was the Yale University men's ice hockey team. Yale did not have a suitable on-campus venue in 1920 and played home games in Philadelphia.[5] During the 1920–1921 season, Yale, Princeton, and Penn made the Arena their home ice.[6]
TheUnited States Amateur Hockey Association was organized in October 1920 in Philadelphia. Philadelphia had two clubs in the league, Quaker City and St. Nicholas both of which played their home games at the Arena beginning in 1921.[7]
The Philadelphia Ice Hockey League held its games at the Ice Palace in the early 1920s.[8]
The Ice Palace was open to the public for ice skating.
In addition to ice skating and hockey, the Ice Palace hosted boxing matches. In February 1922, light-heavyweight championGene Tunney defeated Whitney Wenzel at the Ice Palace.[9]
Pawling's Philadelphia Auditorium and Ice Palace Corporation was forced into bankruptcy when his original financial backers abandoned the operation. It was sold in October 1922 toJules Mastbaum, president of the Stanley Company of America, and Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger. Mastbaum was local to Philadelphia and told the press at the time of the sale that it was his intention to prevent the arena from passing into New York ownership. It was reported that the Ice Palace had been a $960.000 investment for Pawling and his investors, and that the Franklin Trust Company held a $350,000 mortgage on the building and property.[10]
On January 4, 1927, the American Basketball LeaguePhiladelphia Phillies defeated theBrooklyn Celtics 31 to 29 in front of 9,000 fans at the Arena.[11]
In 1927 the Arena was purchased by Rudy Fried and Maurice Fishman who operated the facility until 1934, when their partnership was placed in receivership. In early 1929, a contract was awarded Funk & Wicox, Boston to reconstruct the Arena to seat 17,000 at a cost of $1 million.[12] In 1929,Peter A. Tyrrell (1896–1973) joined the Arena as boxing matchmaker and subsequently became the facility's publicist. In 1934 Tyrrell was named a friendly receiver-in-equity by George Welsh, a federal judge. Tyrrell became general manager of the Arena and served in that capacity until 1958, returning the corporation to profitability and enriching the variety of public entertainment.[13]
The arena was the site of several historic sporting events, including the professional debut ofSonja Henie, fresh from her triumph in the 1936Winter Olympics. Roy Rogers, cowboy movie star, performed in his first rodeo at the Philadelphia arena in 1943. TheRoy RogersRodeo played the Arena every season for more than 20 years. In 1946, when a young cowgirl died after riding a bucking bronco, her funeral was held there and both Rogers and The Sons of Pioneers sang "Roundup in the Sky". After the closing prayer, the performers rode out to the cemetery on horseback. The Arena was the home of The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet. Professionally, the arena was the home to theNHLPhiladelphia Quakers in their only season, 1930–1931, as well as home ice for several minor league hockey teams such as thePhiladelphia Arrows,Philadelphia Ramblers, the Philadelphia Comets, the Philadelphia Falcons/Philadelphia Rockets and thePhiladelphia Ramblers (EHL). It was also the home of theNBAPhiladelphia Warriors, and the part-time home of thePhiladelphia 76ers when the Philadelphia Convention Center was unavailable.
The arena was also a major venue forboxing andwrestling before the opening of theSpectrum. Throughout the history of the Arena, such legends asSugar Ray Robinson,Lew Tendler,Gene Tunney,Joe Frazier,Jack Delaney, andPrimo Carnera fought there. Several championship wrestling matches occurred there, both for theNWA and theWWWF (includingStan Stasiak winning the WWWF championship belt in 1973, the only time until 1977 the belt ever changed hands outside ofMadison Square Garden).Roller Derby also was held there, through the team named the Philadelphia Warriors, not connected with the basketball team, owned by Bill Griffiths, the owner of theLos Angeles Thunderbirds andRoller Games.
"Didja Get Any Onya?" from the albumWeasels Ripped My Flesh byFrank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention was recorded there on March 2, 1969. The Doors played two shows at the Arena on September 19, 1969.[14]
The Arena was not used as much for political and other events, as those events tended to be held atConvention Hall. However, many of the city's mayoral inauguration parties were held there. EvangelistBilly Sunday spoke there, and before the United States' entry into World War II,Charles A. Lindbergh gave a pro-isolationist speech before anAmerica First Committee Meeting.
In 1947 the Arena was sold toTriangle Publications, along with the NBA franchise Philadelphia Warriors Basketball team. This transaction made TV stationWFIL-TV (Channel 6), owned by Triangle Publications, the first joint ownership of a major professional sports team and TV station. In 1958, a group headed by Tyrrell purchased the Arena from the Walter Annenberg Foundation, to which ownership had been transferred by Triangle Publications. At the time of Tyrrell's retirement in 1965, the Arena building was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.
The building fell out of popular use in the 1970s, due to the building of theSpectrum in 1967. From 1967 to 1974, the arena was home to the Eastern Warriors, a Roller Derby team, skating every Friday and Sunday, usually to capacity. Vincent J. McMahon filmedWorld Wide Wrestling Federation bouts at the Arena in the mid-1970s, filming three one-hour shows in one evening.[15]
In 1977, the deteriorating building was auctioned off.
The building was purchased by a group led by former Philadelphia 76ers All-StarHal Greer who sought to help revive West Philadelphia and the wider community.[16] The group renamed the arena in honor ofMartin Luther King Jr. and relocated theContinental Basketball Association'sLancaster Red Roses to the newly named Martin Luther King Jr. Arena and became the Philadelphia Kings. The new owners acquired the basketball floor from the Centrum in New Jersey on which the Eastern League'sCherry Hill Rookies had played, and picked up hoops discarded by Drexel University.[17] The Kings were coached by Greer and led on the court by former NBA superstarCazzie Russell. The franchise lasted just one season at the legendary arena before returning to Lancaster.
The arena was finally destroyed by arson on August 24, 1983.[18] As of 2007, the former site of the arena now contains a housing complex, adjacent to the former TV studio which has become the Ron Brown Commerce Center.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Preceded by first arena | Home of the Philadelphia Warriors 1946–1962 | Succeeded by Cow Palace as San Francisco Warriors |
| Preceded by | Home of the Philadelphia 76ers 1963–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home of the Philadelphia Quakers 1930–1931 | Succeeded by last arena |
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