Madison Square Garden is New York City's foremost multi-purpose arena. It is to New York what the Coliseum was to Rome two thousand years ago. The Garden, as it is known among New Yorkers, is the home ice of the New York Rangers Ice Hockey team and the home court of the New York Knickerbockers Basketball team. It is also used for boxing, wrestling, circuses, ice shows, concerts and other forms of entertainment. Built in four years, from 1964 to 1968, it is the oldest sporting arena in New York, and with a total construction and reconstruction cost of $1.1 billion (in 2015 value) it is one of the ten most expensive stadiums ever built.
The first two Madison Square Gardens, built in the late XIX century were located on Madison Square, from which they took their name. The third, built in 1925, stood on Eighth Avenue, between 49th and 50th Streets. Out of the original three arenas the third survived the longest, standing until 1968, when it was demolished as the fourth arena was being raised.
This new arena was constructed on the place of a former train station, the final destination of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The train station was moved to an underground level and Madison Square Garden became one of the first structures of such size to be constructed over a train station. And even though New Yorkers were not happy to see the demolition of the above-ground station, which was a beautiful monumental Beaux-Arts building, the city authorities went on with the project, hiring architected Robert E. McKee to erect the new stadium.
The stadium, which is owned by the Madison Square Garden Company, takes up most of the block between 33rd and 32nd Streets and 7th and 8th Avenues. Its total field size is 76,000 square meters. Inside, the seating capacity varies, depending on the event. For basketball matches if offers 19,800 seats, for ice hockey - 18,000, for wrestling -18,500, for boxing - 20,800 and for concerts - 20,000.
Madison Square Garden organizes about 300 events a year, including regular home games for the Rangers and Knicks, separate basketball tournaments, including college games, prestigious boxing matches, professional wrestling contests, lacrosse matches, tennis matches, track and field competitions, circus performances by America's favorite Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, as well as foreign circuses, dog shows, political party conventions and rock and pop concerts.
The list of musicians who have performed at Madison Square Garden is endless. Basically, all the big names in the music industry have entertained the New York audience in the stadium. For example, famous New York singer-songwriter Billy Joel has been a regular at the Garden ever since he rocketed to stardom in the 1970s. Elton John, who holds the record for the most appearances in the Garden, has said that it is his favorite venue in the world. Elvis Presley gave four sold-out concerts in 1972, his only in New York City. John Lennon often performed at the Garden after the Beatles split up - in fact, the last major concert of his career was held at the Garden in 1974. The film about Led Zeppelin The Song Remains the Same was shot when the band played three nights at the Garden during their 1973 tour. Michael Jackson held his 30th Anniversary concert at the Garden in 2001, with some seats costing up to $5,000 dollars.
Madison Square Garden caters to everyone. It is New York's most popular, and obviously most lucrative, venue.
Underneath the stadium lies Penn Station, which is short for Pennsylvania Station. It is New York's main train station - contrary to common belief that the title belongs to Grand Central Station on 42nd Street. It is the biggest passenger transportation facility in North America, serving more than 600,000 passengers a day.
The original Penn Station, an aboveground facility, was constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the first decade of the XX century. The building was impressive - it covered two blocks, just like today's Madison Square Garden complex, and attracted the admiration of passersby with its elegant Beaux-Arts style. In fact, it had been modeled after Paris's Gare d'Orsay station. With elaborate tunnels running under the Hudson and East Rivers, the station could now connect New York with Long Island to the east and with all the major cities in the west - Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, etc. After the construction of the station in New York, the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had bought a controlling share in the Long Island Railroad, became the leading railroad in Northeastern America.
After World War II, due to the introduction of more efficient and accessible intercity airplane service, Penn Station saw a decrease in passengers coming into New York from far away cities. In 1962 Penn Station was offered a 25% stake in the Madison Square Garden Company. The contract required the demolition of the original aboveground station and the creation of a smaller but more modern space under the future stadium. Penn Station agreed, but the news was not met with joy among the public and created a big controversy. Many professional architects protested, saying that it was vandalism to destroy such a beautiful city landmark. Commuters who used the station every day were utterly distraught. But business is business, and in the end the Madison Square Garden Company got what it wanted, building not only the stadium but also two office towers. The protest over the demolition, however, did lead to one positive result: it generated a nationwide architectural preservation movement that established the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission. The commission gives historically and architecturally significant buildings landmark status, thus protecting them from demolition.
Today Penn Station contains three underground levels, with trains arriving and departing on the lowest level. Intercity national connections are managed by Amtrak and commuter services, that is, local trains, are operated by the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit. Many passengers complain that the underground concourses are poorly lit and have low ceilings. Taking this into consideration Penn Station is preparing modernization projects that should, in its opinion, meet everyone's approval.