Check out
Bas Rutten's
Liver Shot on
MMA Surge:
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Mahalo travel expert
Asha K. tells you all about
New York City's
Madison Square Garden concert venue and sports arena.
The
History
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Madison Square Garden, better known as "
The Garden," is a state-of-the-art, multipurpose indoor sports arena and concert venue located in
Manhattan, New York City. It was named for the junction where the first two incarnations of the venue stood, the first at
Madison Square on
Madison Avenue at
26th Street, and the second at the former passenger depot on Madison Avenue. "
Garden" came from "Gilmore's Garden," after the famous
American bandleader in the
1870s,
Patrick S. Gilmore. "Madison Square Garden" was officially named by
William Henry Vanderbilt in 1879.
The second incarnation of the venue was still located at 26th and
Madison, but was designed by
Stanford White and was the second tallest building in the city at the time. With 8,
000 seats, Madison Square Garden had the largest main hall of any building worldwide in the late
19th Century.
The third incarnation of The Garden opened on
December 15,
1925 at
50th Street and
8th Avenue. It was primarily designed to be a boxing venue with 17,000 seats, but it was also where
Marilyn Monroe sang her famous birthday song to
President John F. Kennedy, among many other events.
The fourth and current arena that was opened on
February 14,
1968 resides at Four
Pennsylvania Plaza,
7th Avenue between W
31st Street and W
33rd Street, directly on top of
Pennsylvania "
Penn" Station.
The Garden hosts over
300 events every year.
c c c c
Expert Tip
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Lines and wait-times can be long, so get there early. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the area to keep you fed and occupied.
Try out
The Club Bar &
Grill at The Garden itself if you don't want to venture too far. For deli fare, try Ben's
Kosher Delicatessen at 209 W
38th Street and 7th Avenue or
Stage Door Deli on 8th Avnue and 33rd Street.
Cafe 31 offers
Italian and bar food at
220 W 31st Street between 7th and 8th
Avenues. For American, try out
Harrington's at 370 W 7th Avenue and 30th, Local
West on the southeast corner of 33rd Street and 8th Avenue,
Mustang Harry's at 352 7th Avenue and 29th, or
Mustang Sally's at 324 7th Avenue and 28th.
Look no further than
Nick and
Stef's Steakhouse for a
T-bone at 9
Penn Plaza at 33rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.
Irish cuisine can be had at Stout at 133 W 33rd Street between 6th and 7th, or
Tir Na Nog on 8th Avenue between 33rd and 34th
Streets.c
Hockey and
Basketball
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Hockey games at The Garden seat 18,
200
c fans, while basketball games seat 19,763.c
The New York Rangers hockey team were the main tenants of The Garden from 1926 to 1968. The venue hosted seven
NCAA men's basketball championships between 1943 and
1950, plus the
NBA All-Star Games of 1954 and
1955.
The Garden remains the home of the
New York Rangers, as well as the
New York Knicks (Knickerbockers) basketball team.
Boxing
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During its boxing days, from
December 11, 1925 through June 9,
2007, The Garden hosted many of the all-time greats, including
Jack Dempsey in the only indoor bout of his career.
Sugar Ray Robinson and
Henry Armstrong, two of the greatest fighters who ever fought, graced the ring at The Garden 37 times between them.
Joe Lewis fought here 12 times,
Joe Frazier became the heavyweight champion of the world here, and the "
Fight of the Century" between
Muhammad Ali and Frazier took place here on March 8,
1971. The death of
Benny "Kid" Paret was a result of his fight against
Emile Griffith at The Garden on March 24, 1962; after he was entangled in the ropes, unable to do anything but take Griffith's pounding, Paret passed away 10 days later.c
Garden Firsts
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The Garden was home to many "firsts":
The first artificial ice rink in
North America opened here on
February 12, 1879.
The first professional indoor
American football game was played here in 1902.
The first college basketball game was played here in 1934 between
Notre Dame and
New York University.
The first televised basketball game was filmed here on
February 28,
1940 between Fordham and the
University of Pittsburgh.
Michael Jordan played his first professional
Read more by visiting our page at:
http://www.mahalo.com/madison-square-garden-new-york-city-new-york/
- published: 12 Mar 2011
- views: 927