Madison Square Garden ( 1890 ) Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City , the second by that name , and the second to be located at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan . Built in 1890 and closing in 1925 , the arena hosted numerous events , including boxing matches , orchestral performances , light operas and romantic comedies , the annual French Ball , both the Barnum and the Ringling circuses , and the Democratic National Convention in 1924 , which nominated John W . Davis after 103 ballots . It was replaced by the third Madison Square Garden , the first to be located away from Madison Square . History . 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 , whom White seduced 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 – soaring 32 stories – the city ' s second tallest building at the time – dominating Madison Square Park . It was by , and the main hall , which was the largest in the world , measured by , with permanent seating for 8 , 000 people and floor space for thousands more . It had a 1200 - seat theatre , a concert hall with a capacity of 1500 , the largest restaurant in the city and a roof garden cabaret . 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 . Topping the Garden ' s tower was a statue of Diana , by noted sculptor Augustus Saint - Gaudens , which caused Madison Square Park to become known as " Diana ' s little wooded park " . The original gilt copper statue was tall , and weighed , and spun with the wind ; Saint - Gaudens had draped the statue in cloth , but this was soon blown away . The statue was put in place in 1891 , but was soon thought to be too large by Saint - Gaudens and White . It was removed and placed on top of a building at The World ' s Columbian Exposition in Chicago , but the bottom half was destroyed by a fire after the close of the Exhibition , and the top half was lost . In 1893 a hollow second version of the statue , tall and made of gilded copper , replaced the original . This is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art , and a copy is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 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 . Boxing . Boxing has a long history at Madison Square Garden . The original Garden presented boxing matches even before they were technically legal , calling them " exhibitions " or " illustrated lectures " . Among the many events which were held in the new Garden were a number of significant boxing match - ups : Football . In 1902 and 1903 , the Gardens hosted the World Series of Football , which is best remembered for showcasing the very first indoor professional football games . The event involved five teams , four from New York and one from New Jersey . The 1902 contest was won by the Syracuse Athletic Club , while the Franklin Athletic Club claimed the 1903 title . Athletics . 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 ) . 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 .