"The Arena" "The Gardens" | |
 The Duquesne Gardens in the mid-1950s | |
 | |
| Former names | Duquesne Garden (1898–1940) The Gardens (1940–1956) |
|---|---|
| Address | 110 North Craig Street |
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | 5,000 (hockey) 5,657 (standing room) 8,000 ("unofficial" capacity) |
| Surface | Ice, Wood |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1886 |
| Built | 1890 Trolley Barn 1895 Ice Rink |
| Closed | 1956 |
| Demolished | August 13, 1956 |
| Construction cost | $500,000 (USD) ($18.3 million in 2024) |
| Tenants | |
| |
The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward)[a] was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a trolley barn, before becoming a multi-purpose arena. The Gardens opened three years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. Over the years, the Gardens was the home arena of several of Pittsburgh's historic sports teams, such as ice hockey's Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Hornets. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which was the first ice hockey league to openly hire and trade players, played all of its games at the Gardens. The arena was also the first hockey rink to ever use glass above the dasher boards. Developed locally by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Herculite glass was first tested in Pittsburgh. Most rinks were using wire mesh before the shatterproof glass was invented. Finally, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association), played at the Gardens from 1946 to 1947.
Outside team sports, the Duquesne Garden Ball Room, located on the arena's second floor, was also one of the largest dance halls in the country during the time.
- ^ Welsh, Regis M. (March 26, 1956). "Ghosts of The Gardens". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Keck, Harry (January 22, 1940). "Sports". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
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