# Boston Garden
**Boston Garden** was a multi-purpose arena on Causeway Street in Boston's West End that opened on November 17, 1928 as the "Boston Madison Square Garden" and served as the home of the [Boston Bruins](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-bruins) and [Boston Celtics](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-celtics) until its closing in 1995[1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/). Over its 67 years it hosted professional hockey and basketball, boxing, concerts, circuses, and political rallies, and it was demolished in 1998 after its replacement, the [TD Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/td-garden), opened behind it[2](https://thehockeywriters.com/docs/boston-garden/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Opened | November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden," with a boxing card headlined by Boston native "Honey Boy" Dick Finnegan[1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/) |
| Construction | An 18,500-seat arena built by the Boston & Maine Railroad and leased to Tex Rickard's Madison Square Garden Corporation, atop the new North Station[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/) |
| Championships | 16 NBA championship banners and 5 Stanley Cups won during the Garden era[4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/) |
| Largest crowd | About 20,000 people for a political rally, the largest crowd to ever fill the Garden[5](https://dp.la/exhibitions/boston-sports-temples/boston-garden/ringling--rodeos--and-rallies?item=500) |
| Final event | A Bruins–Canadiens exhibition game on September 26, 1995 (some accounts give September 28)[6](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/centennial-stories-the-last-hurrah) • [4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/) |
| Demolished | 1998, three years after the completion of its successor arena, TD Garden[2](https://thehockeywriters.com/docs/boston-garden/) |
## Origins and construction
The Garden grew out of a partnership between the Boston & Maine Railroad and George "Tex" Rickard, the promoter who had financed the third [Madison Square Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-square-garden) in Manhattan in 1925 and sought to replicate it in cities across America[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/). Boston's only comparable venue at the time, the Boston Arena, seated roughly 5,000 spectators, while Rickard's championship boxing matches were drawing crowds of 80,000, making greater seating capacity a strong financial incentive[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/).
In 1927, Boston real estate developer James Walsh enlisted architect George C. Funk, a designer of the Boston Arena, to draft plans for a North Station complex with a hotel and arena, and Rickard visited Boston that November. Five days later, the railroad and Rickard announced a joint venture in which B&M would construct an 18,500-seat sports arena to lease to the Madison Square Garden Corporation[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/).
The venture faced a shareholder lawsuit contesting the arena as a non-railroad building, resolved when the Massachusetts General Court expanded the railroad's corporate powers in March 1928 to permit the stadium's construction; the adjoining Hotel Manger opened with grand ceremonies on August 30, 1930[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/). Rickard designed the building with spectators in mind, wanting every seat close enough to see "sweat on the boxers' brows", a compact layout that became a staple of the arena and was credited with a strong home advantage for Boston teams[3](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/).
The first event was the boxing card of November 17, 1928; the Bruins played their inaugural game at the Garden three days later, on November 20, 1928, against the [Montreal Canadiens](https://www.edgepedia.org/montreal-canadiens)[6](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/centennial-stories-the-last-hurrah).
## Sports era
The Garden was the home floor and rink of the Celtics and Bruins for decades, and it also hosted boxing, professional wrestling, amateur sports, and ice shows[2](https://thehockeywriters.com/docs/boston-garden/). Celtics dominance was the venue's defining sports story: the franchise raised 16 championship banners in the old building, with eras led by [Bill Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-russell) in the 1960s and by the "Big Three" of Robert Parish, Larry Bird, and [Kevin McHale](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-mchale-basketball) in the 1980s[4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/) • [1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/). The Bruins won 5 Stanley Cups in the building[4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/).
The most famous hockey moment in Garden history was [Bobby Orr](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-orr)'s diving overtime goal that completed the Bruins' four-game [Stanley Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-cup) sweep of the [St. Louis Blues](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-louis-blues) in 1970[1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/). On May 3, 1969, the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 99–90 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the Garden[7](https://canespr.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/clips032626.pdf).
The building's quirks were well known: it had no air conditioning, obstructed views ran rampant, and the ice rink was under regulation size[8](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/when-they-tore-down-the-boston-garden/).
## Music, politics, and other events
Beyond sports, the Garden hosted hundreds of non-sporting events, including the annual [Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus](https://www.edgepedia.org/ringling-bros-and-barnum-and-bailey-circus), rodeos, ice shows, and some of Boston's most important political rallies[5](https://dp.la/exhibitions/boston-sports-temples/boston-garden/ringling--rodeos--and-rallies?item=500).
In politics, Senator John F. Kennedy held a huge rally at the Garden on November 7, 1960, in his final day of campaigning for the presidency[1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/).
In music, the Beatles played the Garden on September 12, 1964, during the band's first US tour, to an at-capacity crowd of 13,909[1](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/). One of the venue's most famous concerts was [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown)'s performance on April 5, 1968, one day after the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis; the show went ahead after warnings of a possible cancellation, and city councilor Tom Atkins (who had worked to keep it on) convinced WGBH to broadcast the event live[9](https://bostonbook.org/2021/08/20/boston-garden/). [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley) made his sole Garden appearance in 1971, later released on the album *Elvis: Like a Black Tornado – Live at Boston Garden 1971*[10](https://www.mmone.org/boston-garden/). When [The Who](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-who) returned in March 1976 before a sold-out crowd of over 15,000, drummer Keith Moon collapsed at his kit during the second song and the show was canceled[10](https://www.mmone.org/boston-garden/). Pearl Jam played a sold-out show in 1994 and Phish headlined the 1994/95 New Year's Eve event, among the final concerts at the venue[10](https://www.mmone.org/boston-garden/).
## Closing and demolition
The Garden closed with a "Last Hurrah" exhibition game between the Bruins and the Canadiens on September 26, 1995, the same opponent the Bruins had faced when the building opened in 1928; the Bruins won 3–0, and Don Sweeney scored the final goal ever inside the building[6](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/centennial-stories-the-last-hurrah). Boston.com's retrospective dates the closing to September 28, 1995[4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/). The Bruins and Celtics moved to the adjacent FleetCenter on September 29, 1995[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1997/09/30/turn-out-the-lights-the-garden-partys-over/68f845f2-9478-4cbd-a6b7-2017cc61ae92/).
The vacant building stood for two years. On September 29, 1997, the maintenance crew turned off the lights and locked up one last time before a year-long demolition began, with removal of asbestos and other materials first and the structure to be taken apart section by section starting in January[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1997/09/30/turn-out-the-lights-the-garden-partys-over/68f845f2-9478-4cbd-a6b7-2017cc61ae92/). Demolition crews encountered an unexpected find partway through the work, reported by the Boston Globe in May 1998, that fed a lasting local urban legend known as the mystery of the Boston Garden monkey[4](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/). The former Boston Garden site is now occupied by The Hub on Causeway, a multi-use development next to TD Garden; the successor arena, renamed TD Garden, opened on September 30, 1995[12](https://www.tdgarden.com/home/30th-anniversary) • [13](https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/01/28/old-boston-garden-development).
## References
1. [Looking at the old Boston Garden, Boston.com (2015)](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/looking-at-the-old-boston-garden/)
2. [Boston Garden, The Hockey Writers](https://thehockeywriters.com/docs/boston-garden/)
3. [The Origins of the Boston Garden, The West End Museum](https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/immigrant-neighborhood/the-origins-of-the-boston-garden/)
4. [The Boston Garden closed 20 years ago today, but the mystery of the monkey lives on, Boston.com (2015)](https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2015/09/28/the-boston-garden-closed-20-years-ago-today-but-the-mystery-of-the-monkey-lives-on/)
5. [Boston Garden: Ringling, Rodeos, and Rallies, Digital Public Library of America](https://dp.la/exhibitions/boston-sports-temples/boston-garden/ringling--rodeos--and-rallies?item=500)
6. [Centennial Stories: The Last Hurrah, Boston Bruins (2023)](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/centennial-stories-the-last-hurrah)
7. [Clips compilation including Boston Garden memories, Carolina Hurricanes press (2026)](https://canespr.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/clips032626.pdf)
8. [When they tore down the Boston Garden, Boston.com (2015)](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/06/19/when-they-tore-down-the-boston-garden/)
9. [Boston Garden, A People's Guide to Greater Boston (2021)](https://bostonbook.org/2021/08/20/boston-garden/)
10. [Boston Garden, The Music Museum of New England](https://www.mmone.org/boston-garden/)
11. [Turn Out the Lights: The Garden Party's Over, The Washington Post (1997)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1997/09/30/turn-out-the-lights-the-garden-partys-over/68f845f2-9478-4cbd-a6b7-2017cc61ae92/)
12. [TD Garden 30th Anniversary, TD Garden](https://www.tdgarden.com/home/30th-anniversary)
13. [New Development Springing Up At Old Boston Garden Site Near North Station](https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/01/28/old-boston-garden-development)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Hockey and remaining team sports › Ice hockey venues, seasons, and year-records*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license