Madison Square Garden (1879)
| Company type | Arena |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Sports |
| Founded | 1879 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | William Kissam Vanderbilt (named in 1879) |
| Defunct | 1890 |
| Fate | Demolished and replaced by a new arena on the same site |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | New York City |
| Products | Sporting events, concerts, exhibitions, circuses, ice rink events |
Madison Square Garden (1879–1890) was an arena located in New York City, situated at the northeast intersection of East 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. This initial establishment bearing the name accommodated 10,000 attendees before being replaced by a new structure on the identical site in 1890.
Origins
Initially, the location served as a passenger terminal for the New York and Harlem Railroad, which was abandoned in 1871 when operations shifted uptown to Grand Central Depot. In 1874, businessman P. T. Barnum leased the premises and transformed it into the Great Roman Hippodrome, an open-air oval arena approximately dimensions with tiered seating, hosting circuses and various performances. The unroofed facility measured roughly .
By 1876, bandleader Patrick Gilmore took over the lease, renaming it Gilmore's Garden. He expanded its function to include flower exhibitions, musical performances, beauty pageants, temperance and revival gatherings, walking marathons, and notably, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1877. Gilmore also organized boxing exhibitions, cleverly circumventing legal limitations by presenting matches as "illustrated lectures."
Subsequent lessee W. M. Tileston, connected to the dog show, sought to attract a more sophisticated audience by introducing tennis events, a riding academy, and an ice carnival. The venue notably housed one of America’s earliest indoor ice rinks.
Naming
Following the death of Cornelius Vanderbilt, his grandson William Kissam Vanderbilt regained control and officially renamed the arena "Madison Square Garden" on May 31, 1879. Under his direction, the venue hosted a variety of sporting events such as indoor track and field, the National Horse Show, and boxing matches featuring John L. Sullivan, drawing substantial crowds. Promoter P.T. Barnum also utilized the Garden for exhibitions including his renowned elephant Jumbo, which proved highly profitable.
The original Garden was a leading velodrome with banked turns that capitalized on cycling’s popularity during that era. Its influence was so significant that the Olympic cycling discipline known as the Madison derives its name from this venue.
Despite its importance, the building faced numerous structural problems including inadequate climate control, a leaking roof, and dangerously unstable balconies that resulted in fatalities. Vanderbilt eventually sold this aging facility—characterized by Harper's Weekly as a "patched-up, grimy, drafty, combustible old shell"—to a consortium including J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, James Stillman, and W. W. Astor. The group closed it to make way for a new arena designed by architect Stanford White. Demolition commenced in July 1889, with the second Madison Square Garden opening on June 6, 1890, at an expense exceeding half a million dollars. This replacement was itself demolished in 1926 to be succeeded by the New York Life Building, completed in 1928 and designed by Cass Gilbert.