Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of the arena. The first two were located at the Northeast corner of Madison Square (Madison Ave. & 26th St.) from which the arena derived its name. Subsequently a new 17,000-seat Garden (opened December 15, 1925) was built at 50th Street and 8th Avenue[1], and the current Garden (opened February 14, 1968) is at 7th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station. The present arena is informally known to some by the advertising slogan "The World's Most Famous Arena".
The arena lends its name to the Madison Square Garden Network, a cable television network that broadcasts most sporting events that are held in the Garden, as well as concerts and entertainment events that have taken place at the venue.
History
Madison Square Garden derives its name from the park where the first two gardens were located (Madison Square) on Madison Avenue at 26th Street. As the venue moved to new locations the name still stuck, although since 1925 Madison Square Garden has been neither a garden nor on Madison Square.
The site of the first Madison Square Garden, now known as Madison Square Garden I, was formerly the passenger depot at 26th and Madison Avenue of the New York and Harlem Railroad. When the depot was moved to the current site of Grand Central Terminal in 1871 the depot was sold to P.T. Barnum and converted into a hippodrome called "Barnum's Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome." In 1876 it was renamed "Gilmore's Garden" in honor of Patrick S. Gilmore[2], America's most well-known bandmaster at the time. Gilmore's most famous composition was "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." Gilmore's Garden was an open air arena.
William Henry Vanderbilt officially renamed Gilmore's Garden "Madison Square Garden" and reopened the facility to the public on May 30, 1879 at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. The first arena was originally built for the sport of track cycling, which is still remembered in the name of the Madison event.
1890-1925
Madison Square Garden II.
The second Madison Square Garden (now known as Madison Square Garden II), also located at 26th and Madison Avenue was designed by Stanford White, who would later be killed at the Garden's rooftop restaurant on June 25, 1906 by Harry K. Thaw allegedly because the murderer's wife, Evelyn Nesbit had been White's mistress before her marriage. White kept an apartment, site of the famous red velvet swing, in the building.
The new structure was 200 feet by 485 feet of Moorish architecture with a minaret-like tower soaring 32 stories over Madison Square Park and was the city's second tallest building. The Garden's main hall, was the largest in the world, measured 200 by 350 feet with permanent seating for 8,000 people and floor space for thousands more.
Topping the garden was a statue of Diana which is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A copy is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The statue is 18 feet high and is made of finely wrought copper and is gilded. It was designed by Augustus St. Gaudens, and was made by W. H. Mullins at Salem, Ohio. It weighed 1,800 pounds but spun in the wind.
White was a member of the architecture firm McKim, Mead and White which designed Pennsylvania Station which was torn down to make way for MSG IV. The firm also designed the James Farley Post Office which is being proposed as the anchor for the proposed new Pennsylvania Station as well as the proposed MSG V.
File:1925 NYA program.jpg1925-26 New York Americans game program cover for hockey at Madison Square Garden
The third garden, now known as Madison Square Garden III, was built on 50th Street and Eighth Avenue by boxing promoter Tex Rickard and was dubbed "The House That Tex Built." The New York Rangers got their name in a wordplay on Tex's name (e.g., Tex's Rangers). It was built in 249 days on the site of the city's street car barns.
While the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had debuted at the Garden in 1919, the third garden saw large numbers of performances. The circus was so important to the Garden that when the Rangers played in the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals, the team was forced to play all games on the road (the Rangers won the series anyway). The circus would continue to perform as often as three times daily, repeatedly knocking the Rangers out of the Garden at playoff time, throughout the life of the third Garden. Even at the fourth Garden, games would have to begin as late as 9:00 p.m. to accommodate the circus.
In 1928 Rickard built "Boston Madison Square Garden." The name got clipped to Boston Garden.
Boxing was Madison Square Garden III's principal claim to fame. The building exterior in contrast to the ornate towers of the first two Garden was a simple box. Its most unique feature was its ornate marquee that was above the main entrance, with its seemingly endless abbreviations(Tomw., V/S, Rgrs, Tonite, Thru, etc) Even the name was abbreviated: Madison Sq. Garden. On January 17, 1941, 23,190 people witnessed Fritzie Zivic successful welterweight defense against Henry Armstrong. That is the biggest attendance record of any of the Gardens. MSG III was featured prominently in the 2005 Ron Howard film Cinderella Man (although exterior montage shots glorified it by placing it against the Times Square signs on Broadway when it was in fact one block west).
File:NYR1932 33.jpgThe NHL New York Rangers were a prime tenant of the 50th St. MSG from 1926 to 1968 (1932-33 Team Picture)
It hosted the only indoor bout in the career of Jack Dempsey. It cost $4.75 million to build; this one hosted seven NCAA men's basketball championships between 1943 and 1950. It also hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1954 and 1955. Ironically one type of event that was never held in the 50th St. MSG (except in the movies) was a national Democratic or Republican nominating convention as neither of these parties met in New York to select their candidates for President and Vice President of the United States between 1924 and 1976.
The third Garden had poor sightlines, especially for hockey, and fans sitting in the upper deck could count on having some portion of the ice obstructed, unless they sat in the first row. The fact that there was poor ventilation and that smoking was permitted often led to a haze in the upper portions of the Garden.
When it was torn down, there was a proposal to build the world's tallest building on its site prompting a major battle in its Hell's Kitchen neighborhood that ultimately resulted in strict height restrictions. The space remained a parking lot though until 1989 when Worldwide Plaza designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill opened.
Madison Square Garden Bowl
Madison Square built an open air arena, the Madison Square Garden Bowl at 48th and Northern Boulevard in Long Island City in 1932 that could seat 72,000. This was the site where James Braddock defeated Max Baer for the World Heavyweight title on June 13, 1935 that was dramatized in the film Cinderella Man. Braddock was born on West 48th Street in Hell's Kitchen just a few blocks from the West 49th Street location of MSGIII. Braddock's first come back fight against John "Corn" Griffin was also in the venue. Jack Sharkey and Primo Carnera also captured the heavyweight crown in the 1930s at the Madison Square Garden Bowl.
The bowl was torn down after World War II to make way for U.S. Steel and Ronzoni Macaroni Company factories. They in turn were torn down and the area is now home to a series of car dealerships.
File:Madison Square Garden ad.jpg1968 Advertisement showing architect's model of the final plan for the Madison Square Garden Center complex. The neighborhood is known as Pennsylvania Plaza.
On February 11, 1968 the fourth Madison Square Garden, Madison Square Garden IV, opened after the financially troubled Pennsylvania Railroad tore down Pennsylvania Station (although the tracks remained underneath). The resulting outcry over the demolition of the magnificent Beaux-Arts structure led to the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The current Garden is the hub of Madison Square Garden Center in the office and entertainment complex known as Pennsylvania Plaza (commonly shortened to "Penn Plaza"), for the railroad station atop which the complex is located.
In 1972, the Garden's then chairman, Irving Mitchell Felt, talked about moving the Knicks and the Rangers to what was then merely a proposed arena in the New Jersey Meadows. This was a result of a row between the Garden and New York City over real estate taxes owed by MSG. The situation flared up again in 1980 when there was a reported threat by the Garden to move the Knicks to Nassau Coliseum and the Rangers to the nearly completed Meadowlands Arena if its city real estate taxes were not reduced. Both threats were not taken seriously by the city however, and no moves ever materialized.
In 1991 Garden ownership spent $200 million to renovate the Garden including adding 89 suites. In the process hundreds of seats in the upper mezzanine were removed to make way for the suites. Additionally the color scheme of the garden was changed.
In 2004-2005 Cablevision was involved in an intense battle with the City of New York over the proposed West Side Stadium which they said would be competing with their venue. During the battle, Cablevision announced plans for $360 million in proposed renovations. When the stadium ultimately was stopped, Cablevision signed on to tear down the Garden and rebuild it on Ninth Avenue.
New arena
As of September 2005, the Garden's current owner, Cablevision, has plans to build a fifth Garden. If the project moves forward, a new Garden would be built at the western end of the James Farley Post Office, on 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue across the street, which is also eyed for a western expansion of Pennsylvania Station. The new Garden, which would remain home to the Rangers and the Knicks, would feature wide concourses with stores and restaurants, luxury boxes with better sight lines for basketball and hockey games, a museum, and a hall of fame. The current Garden would be torn down to be replaced with office buildings.
Connecticut-based World Wrestling Entertainment considers it a home arena as well, due to the fact that all generations of the McMahon family, including Vince McMahon's father and grandfather, have promoted shows at the Garden. MSG has hosted several WrestleMania and SummerSlam events, two Survivor Series events and the 2000 Royal Rumble. WWE's strong relationship with Madison Square Garden prevented competitor World Championship Wrestling from ever having a show at the Garden. [citation needed] In 2005, WWE severed business ties with the arena because WWE felt that increased rental costs would prevent them from making a profit in the building. However, over a year later, World Wrestling Entertainment temporarily patched things up with MSG and the hiatus ended with a September 11, 2006 edition of WWE Raw. Though they pulled the 20th installment of SummerSlam, which would have been held at the Garden on August 26, 2007 (It will now be held at the Continental Airlines Arena), WWE continues to make appearances from time to time.
MSG is also known for its place in the history of boxing. Many of boxing's biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including many of Joe Louis, the Roberto Duran-Ken Buchanan affair, and the first and second Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali bouts. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing.
Many large popular-music concerts in New York City take place in Madison Square Garden. Particularly famous ones include The Concert for New York City following the September 11 attacks and John Lennon's final concert appearance before his murder in 1980. The Garden usually hosts a concert each year on New Years Eve, with the Knicks and Rangers usually playing on the road.
The Big East Conference men's basketball tournament has been held at MSG every year since 1983.
Seating
Seating in the present Madison Square Garden is arranged in five ascending levels. The lowest one is referred to as "rink-side" for hockey games or "court-side" for basketball games. Next above this is the First Promenade, followed by the Second Promenade, First Balcony and Second Balcony. The seats of these five levels originally bore the colors red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, respectively; however, this color scheme has since been changed, mainly because the "blue seats" had become synonymous with rowdy behavior by fans, particularly those attending New York Rangers hockey games. It was a common sight for Rangers fans to set fire to the jerseys of fans from visiting teams, especially those from the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and the Philadelphia Flyers. Rangers fans in the blue seats would defend their home from the invading hordes of visiting teams' fans at all costs. Fights were constantly occurring, and ushers would often let Rangers fans get their last punches or kicks in before hauling away the opposing fan. Today, the Garden is not as hostile for opposing fans to visit. For the past six years, the Garden has become more of a divided arena, especially at Rangers/Islanders games. Thousands of Islanders fans "invade" the Garden due to its location right above Penn Station, which services the Long Island Rail Road. Tickets can be purchased from websites such as Ebay.com which allow fans who do not hold season tickets access to games. The result of this is a more divided Garden than ever before. For hockey, the Garden seats 18,200; for basketball, 19,763; and for concerts 20,000 center stage, 19,522 end-stage. The arena features 20,976 square feet (1949 m²) of arena floor space.
File:IMG 0501.JPGCourt set for St. John's basketball game
Because all of the seats are in one monolithic grandstand, distance from the arena floor is significant from the upper sections. Also, the rows rise much more gradually than other North American arenas, which can cause impaired sightlines, especially when sitting behind tall spectators or one of the concourses.
Other venues
Today's Madison Square Garden is more than just the arena. Other venues at the Garden include:
The Theater at Madison Square Garden, which seats between 2,000 and 5,600 for concerts and can also be used for meetings, stage shows, and graduation ceremonies, and was also the traditional home of the NFL Draft until 2005, when it moved to the Jacob Javits Convention Center after MSG management opposed a new ground for the New York Jets. It allso occasionally hosts major boxing matches on nights when the main arena is unavailable. No seat is more than 177 feet (54 m) from the 30-foot-by-64-foot stage. There is an 8,000-square-foot lobby at the theater. When the current Garden opened in 1968, the Theater was known as the Felt Forum, in honor of then president Irving Felt. In the early 1990s, it was renamed the Paramount, after Paramount Communications (which had previously been known as Gulf & Western), which then owned the Garden (and, at the time, Paramount Pictures.) The theater received its current name in the mid-90s, after Viacom bought Paramount, and sold the MSG properties to a group consisting of ITT and Cablevision, which each owned 50% of the Garden. In 1997, ITT sold their share to Cablevision, giving the cable company full control of the venue.
The 36,000-square-foot Expo Center (formerly known as "The Rotunda") is used for trade shows, cat shows, stamp shows, often in combination with the arena, banquets, and receptions.
A 9,500-square-foot terrace and two restaurants: the Garden Club and the Play-by-Play.
Other corporate operations
In addition to the Garden itself, Madison Square Garden, L.P. also operates (but does not own) two major sports venues in Connecticut, as well as two theaters in Manhattan : Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater.
March 31, 1985 - The World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE), presents the inaugural WrestleMania. The annual event would return to Madison Square Garden in 1994 and 2004 for WrestleMania X and WrestleMania XX, celebrating the 10th and 20th anniversaries of WrestleMania.
June 14, 1994 - After 54 years, the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden. It is the first time that a Stanley Cup has been won by the Rangers at the Garden.
June 29, 1997 - The New York Liberty professional women's basketball team plays its first home game - the first WNBA game to be played at Madison Square Garden. [3]
Throughout its long history, the Garden has been involved in its share of historical events. These events have included famous political rallies and celebrations.
On February 20, 1939, A large German-American Bund convention was held prompting riots and protests in and around the arena by American Jews.
Former Republican Party presidential candidate Wendell Willkie led 20,000 African-Americans on June 7, 1943, the largest Civil Rights rally of its time, in demanding equal rights and victory in the war against Hitler.
On July 1, 1982 Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon held a Blessing Ceremony in the Garden for 2075 couples. This event attracted a lot of public and media attention (including a story in Life Magazine), often being called a "mass wedding."
On August 1, 1971, George Harrison held his Concert For Bangladesh. This historic event was the first special benefit concert to raise funds for charity (in this case, the country of Bangladesh, which was at that time in a severe and desperate state). There were two concerts held that day, with one taking place at 2:30pm and the other at 7:00pm. The show featured artists such as Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, and Klaus Voormann, to name a few. A live album of the concert was released in 1972.
In June of 1972, Elvis Presley made his first and only appearances in New York City at the Garden. Elvis played four shows to 80,000 people, which at the time was a record for the venue. A week after the shows an album of the Saturday evening performance was rushed to release making it the fastest turnaround between a live performance and its recorded release. To mark the 25th anniversary of Elvis' Garden shows, a recording of the Saturday afternoon performance was released entitled "An Afternoon in the Garden."
John Lennon performed a concert at The Garden which was professionally recorded and posthmously released on the 1986 album Live in New York City.
File:LedZepLive.JPGLed Zeppelin performing a concert at Madison Square Garden on their 1973 tour of the United States, as shown in the band's concert filmThe Song Remains the Same
Englishrock band Led Zeppelin filmed and recorded their live album, and for many years, only live album and accompanying concert film, The Song Remains the Same, at The Garden during their 1973 U.S. tour.
In October 1974, to cap his comeback after his retirement in 1971 - he was sent 30,000 letters asking him to record or play live again - Frank Sinatra played in front of 20,000 fans at the Garden in a show that was broadcast nationally and internationally. Dubbed "The Main Event" reviews were mixed, but Frank, clearly loving being back centre-stage was on fine form if his pipes were rough from lack of usage.
In June 1977 Led Zeppelin performed six sold out concerts at The Garden. The band spent no money on advertising for the gigs, relying on street demand only to sell out the shows. Enough ticket applications were received to sell out a further two nights, had time permitted.
In July 1977, English rock band Pink Floyd performed here for the first time in their then ten year recording career playing four sold out nights in a row (July 1, 2, 3 and 4) on the final North American dates on their Animals tour. The show on July 1 saw problems between the band and local lighting technicians (they had to use instead of their own lighting crew due to union technicalities) who focused a spotlight at Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' feet instead of his face and body, and Waters reacted by bending down and 'willing' it upwards with his hand. At the end of the encore Waters cursed a local union for insisting the band used the MSG light employees instead of their own by saying quote "I think you New York lighting guys are a fucking load of shit!"
The second show on July 2 went smoothly. On July 3, fans lit off fireworks during "Pigs On The Wing (Part 1)" and Roger Waters substituted one line for "You cunt!" Then, during "Pigs On The Wing (Part 2)", Roger accidentally sang the words to Part 1 and stopped after one line still strumming the guitar and said "I've got to start again, I'm singing the wrong verse, that motherfucker threw me off". When the first set ended, Waters told the crowd that they would be taking a short break and to "stop lighting off fucking fireworks!" Before the encores, Roger said, "For those of you who didn't bring fireworks, thank you for coming, we've enjoyed it". The following night, during Pigs On The Wing Part 2, fireworks went off again and Waters substituted a line for "You shit-bag!". All of the shows are available on ROIO. The band (minus Roger) would not play here again until the 1987 A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. This time the shows went more smoothly than a decade earlier.
On July 29 1978Genesis made their second appearance at the venue. Although now without guitarist Steve Hackett, original frontman Peter Gabriel did attend the show and joined the band for an encore of their seminal hit single, I Know What I Like.
Also in 1978 reggae superstar Bob Marley raised the profile of reggae music in America with his performance at the Garden. In 1980 Marley played two concerts as the opener of The Commodores; the performances were sold out, but the Garden was almost empty after Marley's show. The day after Marley, already fatally ill, collapsed while jogging in the Central Park and performed one last concert in Pittsburgh before cancelling the tour. Marley died months later of cancer.
Jethro Tull filmed a concert at this venue on their 1978 Bursting Out tour which aired on television. Some bits were released on the re-issued Thick as a Brick album and various concert videos. These concerts were of note as Tull's leader Ian Anderson's friend Tony Williams filled in then-Tull bass player John Glascock whom was suffering from ailing health (Glascock would pass away in 1979).
During Queen's show in November of 1978 the band had numerous naked women on stage riding bicycles during their song "Bicycle Race" This stunt attracted lots of media attention.
Comedian Andrew Dice Clay became the first comic to do two sold out shows in a row in 1991 in a film entitled "Dice Rules".
On December, 31st 1995, rock band Phish played to a sold out crowd and played a show that many fans believe is the greatest show in the history of the band. It was recorded and released on December, 20th 2005 to comemorate the shows 10th anniversary as a three disc set entitled: Phish: New Year's Eve 1995 - Live at Madison Square Garden
On July 16th, 1998 Page and Plant performed a concert at The Garden, their first performed at the venue together since Led Zeppelin's 1977 concert tour of the United States.
Billy Joel played a four hour concert for New Year's 1999, dubbed 'The Night Of The 2000 Years." Two songs from this concert were broadcasted live on ABC-TV as apart of the ABC 2000 news program. Highlights from the show were also used for the live album 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.
Since 1985, Irish band U2 has performed 17 shows at the Garden, more than at any other venue, including a combined 8 sold out shows on the 1st and 3rd legs of their most recent Vertigo Tour. Their two performances on the Elevation Tour in October 2001 were considered by many not only among their best concerts ever, but among the best ever at the Garden, with emotions running high after September 11, and Bono inviting dozens of firemen and emergency workers onstage at the end of the performance.
June 22 2005 witnessed British rock band Oasis make their long awaited debut at the Garden, some 10 years into their career.
In 2006, Billy Joel set a record with a string of 12 sold-out performances, breaking the record of 10 set by Bruce Springsteen in 2000. On night 12 of the stand, MSG raised a #12 to the rafters on top of the Garden to join the numbers of Rangers and Knicks players that have had their numbers retired by their respective teams, making Joel the first ever non-sports individual to have his "number" retired at The Garden. The concerts were released as the album 12 Gardens Live in 2006.
On November 12, 2006, comedian Dane Cook performed two sold out shows in one night.
On December 1, 2006, comedy rock band Tenacious D, featuring actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass performed at MSG in their first headlining concert at a major arena.
Traditionally, Madison Square Garden hosts a concert on New Year's Eve. The Knicks and Rangers usually play on the road that evening. Recent NYE performances include multiple performances by Phish (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002), Billy Joel (1999), Marc Anthony (2000), Wilco (2004) and The Black Crowes in 2005. A planned 2003 New Years show by Jane's Addiction and Marilyn Manson was cancelled due to low ticket sales. No show was booked for December 31, 2006.
The artist who holds the all-time record for the greatest number of appearances at the Garden is Elton John who has played the arena 59 times. The band that played more dates in the Garden than any other is The Grateful Dead, rocking the arena an amazing 52 times from 1979 through 1994.[4]
Fan favorite Dispatch had scheduled three reunion shows July 13, 14th, and July 15, 2007 titled Dispatch: Zimbabwe. All of these shows are 100% charity concerts, and are expected to make over two million dollars for charity. After selling out the first scheduled concert in 15 minutes, the band added another show that sold out in 24 hours. finally, the band added a third night on the 15th. These will be the first shows the band has played since 120,000 watched the farewell show at the Hatch Shell in Boston. The shows will raise money for charities in Africa as well as locally.
On Sunday, October 11, 1998, Janet Jackson performed her Velvet Rope concert live on HBO. R&B artist Usher was her opening act, hip-hop star Q-Tip made a guest performance, and former Secretary of State General Colin Powell made a special appearance.
On March 25, 2007, Elton John will celebrate his 60th birthday and 60th Sold Out concert at Madison Square Garden.
Film and television appearances
As an iconic figure, Madison Square Garden has made various appearances in film and television programs. It was featured at the gripping climax of John Frankenheimer's 1962 cold war/paranoid masterpiece The Manchurian Candidate [Frank Sintara, Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey] and in the 1979Robert Redford film The Electric Horseman. Madison Square Garden is featured in the opening scenes of Highlander (1986), which included footage of former tag team The Fabulous Freebirds. (It is worth noting, however, that only the exterior was used; the interior shots were from Continental Airlines Arena.)
Madison Square Garden was the "nest" for the carnivorous Godzilla babies and was later destroyed by F-18 bombers in the Americanized version of Godzilla (1998). Madison Square Garden was featured in the film Glitter, Finding Forrester, and the Adam Sandler remake of Mr. Deeds. In Paternity, Burt Reynolds plays the manager of the Garden. The famous scene from Citizen Kane with Orson Welles standing in front of his giant picture took place in the third Garden.
The arena has also made various appearances on television. In the television series Futurama, which takes place in the year 3000, the MSG is known as "Madison Cube Garden" and appears like a cube, standing on one corner, buried a little ways under the ground.
