Madison Square Garden (1890)

Madison Square Garden II, as it has come to be called in retrospect, was designed by noted architect Stanford White, who kept an apartment there. In 1906 White was murdered in the Garden's rooftop restaurant by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw over White's affair with Thaw's wife, the well-known actress Evelyn Nesbit, who claimed White had raped her when she was 16. The resulting sensational press coverage of the scandal caused Thaw's trial to be one of the first Trials of the Century. The new building, which replaced an antiquated open-air structure that was previously a railroad passenger depot, was built by a syndicate which included J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, P. T. Barnum, Darius Mills, James Stillman and W. W. Astor. White gave them a Beaux-Arts structure with a Moorish feel, including a minaret-like tower modeled after Giralda, the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville The final cost for the building, which the New York Times called "one of the great institutions of the town, to be mentioned along with Central Park and the bridge of Brooklyn" was $3 million. which caused Madison Square Park to become known as "Diana's little wooded park". One of the possible models for Diana was Julia Baird, a well-known artist's model. Saint-Gaudens made several smaller variants in bronze, one of which was on display in the entryway of both Madison Square Garden III, built in 1925, and the current Madison Square Garden. The opening of the new arena was attended by over 17,000 people – who paid up to $50 for tickets to the event – including J.P. Morgan, the Pierponts, the Whitneys and General William Tecumseh Sherman. ==Sports==

In 1902 and 1903, the Garden hosted the World Series of Football, which is best remembered for showcasing the first indoor professional football games. The 1902 event involved five teams. The Knickerbocker Athletic Club, "New York team", Syracuse Athletic Club and the Warlow Athletic Club represented New York state. Meanwhile, the Orange Athletic Club represented New Jersey. The eventual winner of the 1902 series was the Syracuse Athletic Club. The event returned to the Garden in 1903 for the second and final time. The 1903 series featured the Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Olympic Athletic Club, Oreos Athletic Club and Watertown Red & Black representing New York state. Meanwhile, the Orange Athletic Club represented New Jersey, and the Franklin Athletic Club represented western Pennsylvania. The Franklin Athletic Club would go on to claim the event's final title. On January 8, 1909, Matthew Maloney finished ahead of James Crowley and Sidney Hatch in an indoor marathon before 5,000 "wildly cheering" spectators held within the Garden. Maloney was reported to have set a new indoor record for the event (2:54:45.4). Joe Stecher regained the championship from Earl Caddock at the venue on January 30, 1920, the earliest American professional wrestling match to survive on film. The venue also hosted the next two title changes, Ed "Strangler" Lewis' victory over Stecher on December 13, 1920, and his subsequent loss of the championship to Stanislaus Zbyszko on May 6, 1921. From 1899 until its demolition, Madison Square Garden hosted the Six Days of New York, an annual six-day racing event of track cycling. ==Demolition==

Despite its importance to the New York cultural scene in the early 20th century, Madison Square Garden II was never any more of a financial success than the original Garden was, and the New York Life Insurance Company, which held the mortgage on it, decided to tear it down to make way for a new headquarters building, which would become the landmark Cass Gilbert-designed New York Life Building. Construction on the new building began in 1926, and was completed in 1928. ==In popular culture==

• The 1924 Anita Stewart film The Great White Way featured the second Garden. • The 1932 film Madison Square Garden starred Jack Oakie, Zasu Pitts and William Boyd, who would later find fame as "Hopalong Cassidy". • The 1975 novel and 1981 film Ragtime both feature the second Garden as a key location. In the film, recreations of the rooftop garden shooting and tower statue are shown. ==See also==