Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-02-24

1t Is rumored that Madison Square Gar
Den Will soon be torn dowT. x t!i's IS dcnc
New York will lose at one stroke its most
famous amusement center and one or It's
most beautiful architectural landmarks.
What can or will take it's place none may
say. The Garden as it is Familiarity and
even affectionately known. is to be razed.
chiefly for financial. reasons. AS an invest
ment it has never paid a dividend nor in
terest IN the 100000 tied up In ground
and buildings. While the owners are men
or great wealth n some sentiment, 10Th
to send forth the fat which spells destrlc-
ton, the possibilities OF the site are too
valuable to allow good business Judgment
to be swayed by altruistic motives.
Madison Square Garden possesses the
distinction of being the largest single and
comprehensive structure given over to
purely amusement purposes. not only In
America, but In the world. Not even the
gigantic Agricultural hall at Islington. In
Lindon, where the English horse shows
and kindred spectacles are held. surpasses
1t In size. For nearly 40.years the Garden
has been the center Of New York's amuse-
ment life, both by day and night. But
10 years g the uptown trend began. A
dozen great hotels sprang up in the reglon
around Times Square, half a mile further
north and two or three blocks to the west.
Thither also went the newer theaters, and
a great opera house successfully dared
fate as far west as Eighth avenue. In
other words, the night life Of New York
shifted it's base from Madison Square to
Long Acre Square, and exchanged the de-
corous stretch Of Broadway from Twenty
third to Thirty-fourth streets for the gar
ishly illuminated Great White Way. Prob
ably nothing would nave preserved the
Garden so long but FOR the fact that there
is no other available site or building in
which to hold soctety's great annua func-
ton, the horse show, where interest is
about equally divided between the sumptu-
ously gowned and jeweled beauties in the
boxes and the meticulously groomed beau
ties on the tanbark.
Under the one room on the long block
bounded by Fourth and Madison avenues
and Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh--32
city lots-are not only the immense am
phitheater or arena, 300 feet long, 200 feet
wide, and 60 feet high to the roof string
ers, but also the following separate fea-
lures: In the Madison avenue and TWEEN
ty-sixth street corner Of the building there
Is on the first floor, a cafe 15 feet long
and 20 feet wide. Above 1t is a theater and
concert hail, deliberately decorated in
white and gold, with two balconies, the
lower Of which is divided into sc open
boxes. The seating capacity Is LOO.
Opening from the lower balcony there is
an assembly or dining hall, 6sx32 feet, and
connected Herewith is q kitchen equip
ment. sufficiently large to provide for 1000
people. Above the Madison avenue end Of
the building there is a roof garden. COOK
50 feet, with a small stage or bandstand.
This waS opened Mag &, lS992, and accom-
modates $500 people.
Thus there may be, and frequently have
been, several diverse entertainments go
ing on in the Garden simultaneously
concert, q Ball, a banquet, d circus and q
play. IN the great arena the seating ca
pacity varies from 5000 or 5000 to 1900,
according TO the occasion. Above the arena
there is a balcony, which extends around
the a~mphitheater, and back OF that a
promenade, 20 feet wide in its narrowest
part. Properly speaking, there is no stage,
but when one is required II Us constructed
at the eastern end, either in front Of the
boxes or in the space gained by removing
q number of them. There are no arena
boxes around the edges of the floor, 81 In
the first tier, rs In the second and rs in the
third, these tiers being disposed at either
end Of the smphitheater.
With the floor left open for a perform
ance like that Of a circus, there are seats
for 5000 people. With the floor occupied
by chairs, as for concerts, leaving space
Ieither In the center or at the eastern end
for a bandstand, the seating capacity is
1000, and there is standing room for
many more. On the opening night, June
16, 1880, with a concert by Edouard strauss
orchestra and two grand ballets as attrac-
tions, there were present 1900 people, and
that ample provision for exit had been
made was shown in the fact that the
building was vacated after the perform
ance In four and a half minutes. There
are 10 exits, and all of them, save that on
Fourth avenue, are on inclined ramps
without stairways. Besides the usual
means of ventilation. there is a movahla
skylight, the area OF which is one-half that
of the roof. When this is moved aside
the people in the amphitheater are virtu-
ally, so far as fresh air is concerned, out
of doors.
For 20 years prior to the opening Of the
present ornate and comprehensive Madison
Square Garden the site was occupied by
an older structure known as Gilmore Gar