Madison Square Garden Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Current Garden=== In February 1959, former automobile manufacturer [[Graham-Paige]] purchased a 40% interest in the Madison Square Garden for $4 million<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Investors Get Madison Sq. Garden|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 4, 1959|page=20|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety213-1959-02#page/n19/mode/1up|access-date=July 5, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> and later gained control.<ref name=NYTObit>[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/24/obituaries/irving-m-felt-84-sports-impresario-is-dead.html New York Times: "Irving M. Felt, 84, Sports Impresario, Is Dead" By AGIS SALPUKAS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185651/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/24/obituaries/irving-m-felt-84-sports-impresario-is-dead.html |date=October 4, 2018 }} September 24, 1994</ref> In November 1960, Graham-Paige president [[Irving Mitchell Felt]] purchased from the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] the rights to build at [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Penn Station]].<ref name=MITPlosky>[http://www.subjectverb.com/www/writing/thesis.pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology: "The Fall and Rise of Pennsylvania Station -Changing Attitudes Toward Historic Preservation in New York City" by Eric J. Plosky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106032110/http://www.subjectverb.com/www/writing/thesis.pdf |date=January 6, 2015 }} 1999</ref> To build the new facility, the above-ground portions of [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|the original Pennsylvania Station]] were torn down.<ref>{{cite web |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/29/archives/demolition-starts-at-penn-station-architects-picket-penn-station.html |title=Demolition Starts At Penn Station; Architects Picket; Penn Station Demolition Begun; 6 Architects Call Act a 'Shame' |last=Tolchin |first=Martin |date=October 29, 1963 |website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523100724/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/29/archives/demolition-starts-at-penn-station-architects-picket-penn-station.html|archive-date=May 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Madison Square Garden 1968.jpeg|thumb|A 1968 [[New York Knicks]] [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] game at Madison Square Garden]] The new structure was one of the first of its kind to be built above the platforms of an active railroad station. It was an engineering feat constructed by [[Robert E. McKee]] of [[El Paso, Texas]]. Public outcry over the demolition of the Pennsylvania Station structure—an outstanding example of [[Beaux-Arts architecture]]—led to the creation of the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]. The venue opened on February 11, 1968. Comparing the new and the old Penn Station, Yale architectural historian [[Vincent Scully]] wrote, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."<ref name="Muschamp 1993">{{cite web |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |title=Architecture View; In This Dream Station Future and Past Collide |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 20, 1993 |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/arts/architecture-view-in-this-dream-station-future-and-past-collide.html | access-date=September 6, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195706/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/arts/architecture-view-in-this-dream-station-future-and-past-collide.html | archive-date=September 6, 2018 | url-status=live}}</ref> In 1972, Felt proposed moving the [[New York Knicks|Knicks]] and [[New York Rangers|Rangers]] to a then incomplete venue in the [[New Jersey Meadowlands]], the [[Meadowlands Sports Complex]]. The Garden was also the home arena for the [[New York Golden Blades|NY Raiders/NY Golden Blades]] of the [[World Hockey Association]]. The Meadowlands would eventually host its own NBA and NHL teams, the [[Brooklyn Nets|New Jersey Nets]] and the [[New Jersey Devils]], respectively. The [[New York Giants]] and [[New York Jets|Jets]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) also relocated there. In 1977, the arena was sold to [[Gulf and Western Industries]]. Felt's efforts fueled controversy between the Garden and New York City over real estate taxes. The disagreement again flared in 1980 when the Garden again challenged its tax bill. The arena, since the 1980s, has since enjoyed tax-free status, under the condition that all Knicks and Rangers home games must be hosted at MSG, lest it lose this exemption. As such, when the Rangers have played neutral-site games—even those in New York City, such as the [[2018 NHL Winter Classic]], they have always been designated as the visiting team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/sports/hockey/rangers-on-road-in-the-bronx-money-may-be-why.html |title=Rangers on Road in the Bronx? Money May Be Why |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 25, 2014 |access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> The tax agreement includes an [[act of God]] clause, which allowed Knicks and Rangers home games to be played elsewhere during the [[2020 NBA Bubble]] and [[2020 Stanley Cup playoffs]], respectively, because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Brooks |first=Larry |date=July 15, 2020 |title=Igor Shesterkin 'outstanding' in first bid to keep Rangers' starting job |url=https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/shesterkin-outstanding-in-bid-for-rangers-starting-job/ |access-date=December 31, 2023 |work=[[The New York Post]]}}</ref> In 1984, the four streets immediately surrounding the Garden were designated as Joe Louis Plaza, in honor of boxer [[Joe Louis]], who had made eight successful title defenses in the [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|previous Madison Square Garden]].<ref>{{cite web |author=John Eligon |date=February 22, 2008 |title=Joe Louis and Harlem, Connecting Again in a Police Athletic League Gym |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/nyregion/22louis.html |access-date=September 26, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Feirstein |first1=Sanna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ourZIpRoJEC&q=%22joe+louis+plaza%22+named&pg=PA110 |title=Naming New York: Manhattan Places & how They Got Their Names |publisher=New York University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780814727126 |page=110 |access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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