"The World's Most Famous Arena"...
Through good times and bad, mostly bad these days (remember, the Knicks and the Rangers play there), New Yorkers have had Madison Square Garden which opened for business on May 30, 1879 at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street in an abandoned railroad shed. The sports arena was described by Harper Weekly as "Grimy, drafty, combustible". One would have to assume that those were its good qualities...
In 1890 renowned architect and even more renowned womanizer Stanford White designed a $3 million dollar arena at the same location that contained a rooftop restaurant where an ex-girlfriend's jealous husband shot Stanford to death in 1906. The Garden moved uptown in 1925, relocating to 50th Street and 8th Avenue where it stood until the current Garden was built in 1968 over Penn Station...
The last incarnation of the Garden would quickly (1970) house the New York Knicks 1st NBA championship, the 1st Ali-Frazier fight (1971), Elvis Presley's 4 sold-out concerts (1972), John Lennon's last ever concert appearance at an Elton John show (1974), Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10 at the American Cup (1976). In 1991 a $200 million renovation gave the Garden "a state of the art" makeover and just 3 years later, an NHL hockey championship for the New York Rangers...
| Since relocating to 33rd Street between 7th & 8th Avenues, the Garden has been home to political conventions for both national parties, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel sell-outs, Bangladesh and 911 benefits, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, the Pope and countless others. Hey, even Rick Nelson had a party there... More May 30th Memories... 1431] Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic is burned at the stake in Rouen, France at 19... 1539] Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto landed in Florida (he thought he was on Staten Island but hey, we'll take Florida)... 1783] The 1st daily newspaper in the U.S., Benjamin Towner's "The Pennsylvania Evening Post" is published... 1821] James Boyd patents the rubber fire hose (giving "Welcome Back, Kotter's" Vinnie Barbarino one of the great lines ever uttered on TV: "Up your nose with a rubber hose")... 1883] A rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing triggers a stampede leading to the trampling deaths of 12... 1848] W.G. Young patents the ice cream freezer (good man!)... 1889] The brassiere is invented (rumor has it that the bra was invented by "Push-em-up" Tony Riccardo but it doesn't hold up)... 1922] The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated by Chief Justice William Howard Taft... 1933] Sally Rand introduces her exotic fan dance to audiences at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition (no report of what progress was made following her dance)... 1946] Boston Brave Bama Rowell breaks lights on the Ebbets Field scoreboard when he hits a double off of it ("The Natural" based the Roy Hobbs scene on this incident)... 1963] Lesley Gore is #1 with "It's My Party" (a song she hears on the radio for the 1st time on WINS)... 1964] "Love Me Do" is #1 for the Beatles... 1967] Nearing 41 and the end of the line, future Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford of the Yankees announces his retirement... 1968] The Beatles begin recording their "White Album"... 1969] Mario Andretti wins the Indy 500, driving for Andy Granatelli... 1970] Baseball All-Star voting returns to the fans (great, now we can see their faves, whether they're hitting .200 or not)... 1971] Mariner 9 blasts off on a journey to Mars (Mariner 9 is not the Seattle team, it's a space probe)... 1973] "My Love" by Paul McCartney & Wings is #1... 1975] How's this for a combo ? Joan Baez welcomes Kool & the Gang on "Midnight Special"... 1982] 21-year old Cal Ripken Jr. begins his consecutive game streak at third base (the streak will last more than 13 years and 3 months and break Lou Gehrig's streak)... 1992] Paul Simon (50) and Edie Brickell (24) rock down the aisle in Montauk, LI... 1996] Britain's Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson end their 10-year marriage... 2002] A solemn, wordless ceremony marks the end of the cleanup at Ground Zero, 8 1/2 months after the 911 terrorist attacks... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline}... "Happy Birthday...happy birthday"... 1927] Clint ("Cheyenne") Walker... 1936] Keir ("2001") Dullea... 1939] Wacky veteran actor Michael J. Pollard... 1943] Football Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers... 1958] Ted (Ace on "Love Boat") McGinley... 1964] Wynonna Judd... 1972] Red Sox star Manny Ramirez... [Today is the 150th day of 2006 with 215 days remaining in the year and 35 days left until July 4th} ... |
