Winter Garden at Exposition Hall The Winter Garden at Exposition Hall was Pittsburgh ' s third major indoor skating rink which lasted from 1916 to 1920 . It stood at the current site of Point State Park . The facility consisted of three buildings : Main Hall , Music Hall and Machinery Hall . The Exposition was originally supposed to be a place for social gatherings where ideas and goods could be freely exchanged . However the facility later became Pittsburgh ' s premier indoor hockey rink . History . Early Beginnings . In 1885 , the Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society , commonly called the Pittsburgh Exposition , were determined to have a venue that offered the feel of a county fair with the mystique of a World ' s Fair . A year after the society formed , the Pittsburgh City Council approved the purchase of land at the Point along the shore of the Allegheny River and granted a lease for 50 years . Life memberships and popular subscriptions raised nearly $ 1 million to complete the construction . The first Exposition took place in September 1889 and was open to both Pittsburgh and out - of - state residents . The Expo had a daily average attendance of 10 , 000 during the fall months . Many visitors were attracted to the automobile , poultry and trade shows , while others gathered to enjoy the best orchestras and bands in the nation . Victor Herbert and John Phillip Sousa both played at the Exposition . Fashion shows from New York City and Paris attracted high society women while free samples of balloons , popcorn and dairy products captured the attention of ordinary citizens . A roller coaster , ferris wheel and merry - go - round captivated the children of the region . The complex had 100000 sqft of exhibit space , an art gallery and the Music Hall that held 5 , 500 patrons . People travelled from great distances to join the locals ; many wealthy patrons travelled up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to moor their houseboats along the Allegheny ' s shore behind the Exposition site . However disaster struck the Expo in 1901 , when the complex was destroyed by a fire on St . Patrick ' s Day . Wind - blown embers from a stable fire on Duquesne Way engulfed the great Main Hall . Machinery Hall was the only survivng building on the six acre site . Most of the Exposition was rebuilt at a cost of $ 600 , 000 and included new versions of Machinery Hall , the Main Hall and the Music Hall . The new Main Hall was constructed of steel , stone and massive brick walls . The Main Hall ' s heavy doors were adorned with cut white stone and the interior was decorated and illuminated by 1 , 500 incandescent lights under a vaulted and girdered ceiling . Move to Hockey . During this time public interest in ice skating was growing in Pittsburgh and that interest served was the focus for converting the Main Hall into the Winter Garden . Also due to World War I and a polio epidemic , the annual Exposition would be forced to an end in 1916 . Hockey captured the fancy of local enthusiasts at the Duquesne Gardens which was located in Oakland , Pennsylvania . However ice time at the Gardens was scarce and demand for hockey was growing . So in 1915 , chiller pipes and concrete were added to the floor of the Main Hall to convert it into an impressive sheet of ice . Using the latest technology , the ice freezing system pumped an ice forming solution at a rate of 15 , 000 gallons every minute to produce a minus 30 temperature on the floor . Each year the Winter Garden was still in operational from November until April 1 for ice hockey . Many teams in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League which included teams such as the Pittsburgh Keystones , Pittsburgh Duquesne , Pittsburgh Lyceum and Pittsburgh Fort Pitt used the Winter Garden for matches . Soon after one of Pittsburgh ' s earliest women ' s league formed at the Winter Garden . The size of the ice made hockey matches grueling tests of endurance and heavily favored the home teams . Visitors found the 300 ' x 140 ' playing surface too large . By comparison , today ' s NHL rinks measure 200 ' x 85 ' . The biggest hockey match witnessed at the Winter Garden featured the great Hobey Baker on March 24 , 1917 . Baker , a star football and hockey player from Priceton , played an exhibition game with a cast of players from Philadelphia . Baker scored all three Philadelphia goals , including a the game winner in the third overtime period . It was the final hockey game Baker would play . He died in France while serving in World War I . Creation of Point State Park . The Winter Garden ' s last local hockey match was played in 1920 . An agreement of sale of the Exposition property was reported in the April 9 , 1920 edition of The Pittsburgh Post - Gazette , but a transfer was never finalized . Pittsburgh city council agreed to lease and used the Expo property for the city ' s auto pound . The lease ended 20 years later in 1934 . The Music Hall was demolished in 1941 and Machinery Hall was dismantled in 1942 to secure scrap metal for the World War II effort . The Main Hall was the last remaining building until 1951 when the structure was torn down to make way for the 37 acre Point State Park .