The first Madison Square Garden, bought and renamedby William K. Vanderbilt in 1879, was a drafty structure that presented athletic attractions, most notably boxing matches featuring John L. Sullivan. Its name came from it occupation of a corner off Madison Square Garden. Unable to make a profit, Vanderbilt razed the building in 1889.

The Horse Show Association gained control of the site and hired Stanford White of the renowned firm McKim, Mead, and White to design a new structure.

White's Madison Square Garden was a Moorish fantasy that cost three million dollars, was the second-tallest building in New York, and boasted an 8,000-seat auditorium that was the largest in the United States.

It also featured a roof garden where White would meet his end in 1906, shot by Harry Thaw on suspicion of having seduced Thaw's young wife, Evelyn Nesbit.

The second Madison Square Garden, which presented horse shows, dog shows, bicycle races, boxing matches, and the Democratic National Convention of 1924, became profitable once promoter Tex Rickard leased the building, but it, too, was razed in 1925 to make way for the new headquarters of New York Life Insurance Company.

Rickard kept the name Madison Square Garden but moved the sporting and entertainment facility across town and uptown to Eighth Avenue, first at 50th Street.

Eventually, it would infamously replace another McKim, Mead, and White Gem: Pennsylvania Station.