For seven decades, the Boston Garden functioned as both a de facto
community center and the indoor entertainment hub of New England.
Known to millions as the home of the Bruins and Celtics, the Garden was
also home to a variety of other events. The Boston Garden was truly a
people's palace, serving as a venue for events both grand and humble,
monumental and mundane. It was nothing less than the city's playpen,
music hall, political clubhouse, tavern, cathedral, and living room. The
Boston Garden opened on November 17, 1928, to an overflow audience who
witnessed local boxer Dick Honeyboy Finnegan defeat reigning world
featherweight champion Andre Routis in a non-title bout. Three days
later, the Bruins greeted a crowd that fire department officials
estimated was nearly four thousand above maximum capacity. The Boston
Garden captures these moments and the unique relationship that was
forged with the city right from the beginning. During the Great
Depression, the Garden hosted countless community events, such as free
public skating and religious services. It was Boston's main attraction
with concerts, wrestling, school sports, and the ever popular Bruins.
Later years saw the birth of the Boston Celtics in 1946 and their
unsurpassed record of sixteen world championships. Following World War
II and through the baby boomer years, performers as diverse as Liberace,
Elvis, and the Rolling Stones also packed fans in. The Boston Garden was
demolished in 1998 to make room for the Central Artery and private
development, but it lives on in the hearts of New Englanders.
