Aptly named "The World's Most Famous Arena," the Garden has more than five million fans a year passing through its doors. It is the home of three different New York Sports franchises: The NBA's Knicks, the NHL's Rangers, and the WNBA's Liberty. The arena is also the site for numerous other events, such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, World Championship Boxing, numerous concerts, and much more.
Madison Square Garden is located directly above Penn Station on 34th Street, making it highly accessible by public transportation. This location is actually the fourth Madison Square Garden to be built in New York. The original Garden was unveiled in 1874 and was called Barnum's Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome. Located at 26th Street and Madison Ave., it played host to circus-type attractions like fire-eaters and chariot races. The lease changed hands a couple of times, changing its name to Gilmore's Garden and eventually to Madison Square Garden in 1879. This arena was demolished and rebuilt on the same spot and was in operation here until 1925.
The New York Life Insurance Company owned the land occupied by this latest Garden and decided it was the perfect location for its national headquarters. But the Garden was demolished again, moving to a location on 8th Avenue. This venue lasted until 1968, when construction of the new Madison Square Garden was completed.
In 1968 the new Garden was unveiled and was opened by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby with a "Salute to the USO." Since then, the Garden has seen the Knicks win two championships (1970 & 1973), the Rangers win a Stanley Cup (1994), and some huge sporting events like the boxing bout between Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier in 1971.
The Garden also has become one of the premier concert venues in the world. It attracts some of the biggest names in entertainment. For instance, the Grateful Dead played the Garden 52 times, more than any other group.
The Garden occupies 820,000 square feet of land and is comprised of a 20,000-seat main arena, The Theater (formerly known as the Felt Forum and the Paramount), the 40,000-square-foot Expo Center, two restaurants, and 89 club suites.
Some of the Garden's legends are enshrined in the Garden Walk of Fame, a tribute to 45 stars who helped make this arena great. The memorial can be seen in the Mall as visitors enter the building from 7th Avenue.
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