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 Interactive map of Madison Square Garden II | |
| Full name | Madison Square Garden |
|---|---|
| Location | Manhattan,New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°44′34″N73°59′08″W / 40.74278°N 73.98556°W /40.74278; -73.98556 |
| Capacity | 8,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | June 1, 1891 |
| Closed | 1925 |
| Demolished | 1926 |
| Architect | McKim, Mead & White |
| Builder | David H. King, Jr. |
Madison Square Garden (1891–1926) was anindoor arena inNew York City, the second by that name, and the second and last to be located at26th Street andMadison Avenue inManhattan. Opened in 1891 at the cost of about $500,000, it replaced thefirst Madison Square Garden, and hosted numerous events, including boxing matches, orchestral performances, light operas and romantic comedies, the annual French Ball, both theBarnum and theRingling circuses, and the1924 Democratic National Convention, which nominatedJohn W. Davis after 103 ballots. The building closed in 1925, and was replaced by thethird Madison Square Garden at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, which was the first to be located away fromMadison Square.
Madison Square Garden II, as it has come to be called in retrospect, was designed by noted architectStanford White, who kept an apartment there. In 1906 White wasmurdered in the Garden's rooftop restaurant by millionaireHarry Kendall Thaw over White's affair with Thaw's wife, the well-known actressEvelyn Nesbit, who claimed White had raped her when she was 16.[1] The resulting sensational press coverage of the scandal caused Thaw's trial to be one of the firstTrials of the Century.
The new building, which replaced an antiquatedopen-air structure that was previously a railroad passenger depot, was built by a syndicate which includedJ. P. Morgan,Andrew Carnegie,P. T. Barnum,[2]Darius Mills,James Stillman andW. W. Astor. White gave them aBeaux-Arts structure with aMoorish feel, including a minaret-like tower modeled afterGiralda, the bell tower of theCathedral of Seville[2] – soaring 32 stories[citation needed] – the city's second tallest building at the time[citation needed] – dominatingMadison Square Park. It was 200 feet (61 m) by 485 feet (148 m), and the main hall, which was the largest in the world, measured 200 feet (61 m) by 350 feet (110 m), with permanent seating for 8,000 people and floor space for thousands more. It had a 1200-seat theatre, a concert hall with a capacity of 1500, the largest restaurant in the city and a roof garden cabaret.[3] The final cost for the building, which theNew York Times called "one of the great institutions of the town, to be mentioned along with Central Park and the bridge of Brooklyn" was $3 million.[3]
Topping the Garden's tower was a statue ofDiana, by noted sculptorAugustus Saint-Gaudens,[4] which caused Madison Square Park to become known as "Diana's little wooded park". One of the possible models for Diana was Julia Baird, a well-known artist's model.[5][4] The original gilt copper statue was 18 ft (5.5 m) tall, and weighed 1,800 lb (820 kg), and spun with the wind; Saint-Gaudens had draped the statue in cloth, but this was soon blown away.[2] The statue was put in place in 1891, but was soon thought to be too large by Saint-Gaudens and White. It was removed and placed on top of a building at TheWorld's Columbian Exposition inChicago, but the bottom half was destroyed by a fire after the close of the Exposition, and the top half was lost. In 1893, a hollow second version of the statue, 13 ft (4.0 m) tall and made of gilded copper, replaced the original. This is now at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art, and a copy is in theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[2][6] Saint-Gaudens made several smaller variants in bronze, one of which was on display in the entryway of bothMadison Square Garden III, built in 1925, and the currentMadison Square Garden.
The opening of the new arena was attended by over 17,000 people – who paid up to $50 for tickets to the event – includingJ.P. Morgan, the Pierponts, the Whitneys andGeneral William Tecumseh Sherman.[3]
In 1902 and 1903, the Garden hosted theWorld Series of Football, which is best remembered for showcasing the firstindoor professional football games. The 1902 event involved five teams. TheKnickerbocker Athletic Club,"New York team",Syracuse Athletic Club and theWarlow Athletic Club represented New York state. Meanwhile, theOrange Athletic Club representedNew Jersey. The eventual winner of the 1902 series was theSyracuse Athletic Club. The event returned to the Garden in 1903 for the second and final time. The 1903 series featured the Knickerbocker Athletic Club,Olympic Athletic Club,Oreos Athletic Club andWatertown Red & Black representing New York state. Meanwhile, the Orange Athletic Club represented New Jersey, and theFranklin Athletic Club representedwestern Pennsylvania. The Franklin Athletic Club would go on to claim the event's final title.[7]
On January 8, 1909, Matthew Maloney finished ahead ofJames Crowley andSidney Hatch in an indoormarathon before 5,000 "wildly cheering" spectators held within the Garden.[8] Maloney was reported to have set a new indoor record for the event (2:54:45.4).[8]
TheMillrose Games were first held at the arena in 1914.
The Garden continued to host The Westminster Kennel Club's annual dog show. This championship is the third-longest running U.S. sporting event (behind only the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks).
Boxing has a long history at Madison Square Garden. Theoriginal Garden presented boxing matches even before they were technically legal, calling them "exhibitions" or "illustrated lectures". Among the many events which were held in the new Garden were a number of significant boxing matchups. A bout between defending heavyweight championJess Willard and challengerFrank Moran on March 25, 1916, which brought in $152,000, the largest Garden take to that date.[3] Also,Jack Dempsey's knockout ofBill Brennan in the 12th round on December 14, 1920.[3]
Professional wrestling was also successfully staged at the venue, as with later incarnations of the Garden. TheWorld Heavyweight Championship derives fromGeorge Hackenschmidt's victory in two straight falls at the Garden overTom Jenkins on May 4, 1905.[9]Joe Stecher regained the championship fromEarl Caddock at the venue on January 30, 1920,[10] the earliest American professional wrestling match to survive on film.[11] The venue also hosted the next two title changes,Ed "Strangler" Lewis' victory over Stecher on December 13, 1920, and his subsequent loss of the championship toStanislaus Zbyszko on May 6, 1921.[12][13][14][15]
From 1899 until its demolition, Madison Square Garden hosted theSix Days of New York, an annualsix-day racing event oftrack cycling.
Despite its importance to the New York cultural scene in the early 20th century, Madison Square Garden II was never any more of a financial success than the original Garden was,[16] and theNew York Life Insurance Company, which held the mortgage on it, decided to tear it down to make way for a new headquarters building, which would become the landmarkCass Gilbert-designedNew York Life Building. Construction on the new building began in 1926, and was completed in 1928.
...Julia Baird's claim was published, the Boston Herald reported that some seventeen women from various parts of the country each swore that it was she who had been the model
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