1924: Third Madison Square Garden site acquired
A boxing promoter in partnership with circus owner John Ringling and others purchased a former streetcar barn on the West Side 90 years ago this month, where they built the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden. This was the first of four arenas bearing the name to be built outside of Madison Square Park.
George “Tex” Rickard led the group that paid $2 million to the Eighth Avenue Railway Company for the parcel along Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, in a deal arranged by a Douglas Elliman broker.
The new structure opened in November 1925, with seating for about 17,000 people.
The original Madison Square Garden opened in 1879, the second in 1890, both adjacent to the park. The second was designed by famed architect Stanford White and was a striking example of the rich Beaux-Arts style, but property owner New York Life Insurance demolished it in 1925 to make way for its iconic gold-pyramid topped office tower.
The Eighth Avenue structure was demolished in 1968, when MSG’s latest incarnation opened above Pennsylvania Station. Developer William Zeckendorf Jr. purchased the third Garden site in 1984 for what would become Worldwide Plaza.