Duquesne Gardens

The Duquesne Gardens

"The Arena" "The Gardens"
The Duquesne Gardens in the mid-1950s
Former names	The Duquesne Traction Company
Location	110 North Craig Street 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) ($14.4 million in 2017)
Tenants
Hockey Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL) (1925–1929) Pittsburgh Hornets (AHL) (1936–1956) Calder Cup Finals (1940, 1947, 1951-1953, 1955) AHL All-Star Game (1956) Pittsburgh Shamrocks (IHL) (1935–1936) Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (IHL-EAHL) (1930–1937) Fort Pitt Hornets-Panthers (USAHA) (1924–1925) Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (USAHA) (1915–1925) Pittsburgh Professionals (IPHL) (1904–1907) W. Penn Hockey League Pittsburgh Athletic Club (1899-1904, 1907-1909) Pittsburgh Bankers (1900-1904, 1907-1909) Pittsburgh Duquesne (1898-1901, 1908-1909) Pittsburgh Keystones (1899–1903) Pittsburgh Lyceum (1907–1908) Pittsburgh Pirates (1907–1908) Pittsburgh Victorias (1902–1904) WUP Hockey Club (1898–1900) Basketball Pittsburgh Ironmen (BAA) (1946–1947) Duquesne Dukes Basketball (NCAA) (1914–1956) Pittsburgh Panthers basketball (NCAA) (1905–1912)

The Duquesne Gardens 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 3 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 1946–1947.

Outside of 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.

The Gardens was originally built in 1890 as the Duquesne Traction Company, which served Pittsburgh as a trolley barn, in the city's Oakland neighborhood. In 1895, Christopher Lyman Magee, a Pittsburgh politician, spent nearly $500,000 ($14.4 million in 2017) to purchase and renovate the building. He renamed the structure the Duquesne Gardens in 1896, although it was always called the "Arena" by the locals. The Gardens, which had the world's largest indoor ice rink and a second floor ballroom, became a premier indoor venue.