Old Arena Images & Beginnings

[Killion]

^^^ Beautiful. Not exactly what you think of when you think of Jersey today.

 

[James Laverance]

Skating scene in Staten Island in 1869...

 

[DowntownBooster]

Cherry Hill Arena - a 4,416 seat venue that was home to the Jersey Devils of the EHL from 1964 to 1973. The New York Golden Blades of the WHA relocated there to become the New Jersey Knights during the 1973-74 season after drawing poor crowds at Madison Square Garden. The Cherry Hill Arena lacked showers in the dressing room for visiting teams which resulted in the opposition getting dressed at the Holiday Inn two miles away. Imagine seeing players like Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe in full hockey gear walking through the hotel to catch the bus to the game! Another quirk to the building was that the ice surface was not level which gave the home team an advantage as the visiting goalie would often not notice the puck until it came over the center red line. The building would eventually be demolished in the 1980s.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Cherry Hill Arena - a 4,416 seat venue that was home to the Jersey Devils of the EHL from 1964 to 1973. The New York Golden Blades of the WHA relocated there to become the New Jersey Knights during the 1973-74 season after drawing poor crowds at Madison Square Garden. The Cherry Hill Arena lacked showers in the dressing room for visiting teams which resulted in the opposition getting dressed at the Holiday Inn two miles away. Imagine seeing players like Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe in full hockey gear walking through the hotel to catch the bus to the game! Another quirk to the building was that the ice surface was not level which gave the home team an advantage as the visiting goalie would often not notice the puck until it came over the center red line. The building would eventually be demolished in the 1980s.

Venue seems flat from the outside.

 

[Killion]

Venue seems flat from the outside.

Do you mean architecturally, aesthetically or due to the low roof line?.... Obviously "utilitarian". No thought given to aesthetics nor even to amenities, sight-lines etc. Slap-up job. Pre-fab. Warehouse. Farm building. It looks like an aircraft hangar actually, larger version of the Quonset hut that at one time dotted the Prairies & elsewhere post War & used as hockey rinks. Cheap, quick.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Skating scene in Staten Island in 1869...

Looks like a few skaters with a stick and ball. Shinny or ice polo?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Do you mean architecturally, aesthetically or due to the low roof line?.... Obviously "utilitarian". No thought given to aesthetics nor even to amenities, sight-lines etc. Slap-up job. Pre-fab. Warehouse. Farm building. It looks like an aircraft hangar actually, larger version of the Quonset hut that at one time dotted the Prairies & elsewhere post War & used as hockey rinks. Cheap, quick.

Built in an open area. Yet lacking seating and poor sight lines. Aircraft hanger is a good description.

 

[Killion]

Built in an open area. Yet lacking seating and poor sight lines. Aircraft hanger is a good description.

Looks like it to me C58. Possible Korean or even WW2 unused inventory, originally designed for military use sold as surplus or perhaps "designed after" type dealeo. "Homes by Sears" & Buckminster Fuller etc, pre-fab communities & so on. NJ , CT & elsewhere - everywhere post war & into the 60's, quite common as you know.

 

[James Laverance]

A couple of other images from 1860.

 

[Canadiens1958]

A couple of other images from 1860.

Two great images. The advertising piece shows what looks like a shinny player in the upper right. Perhaps the Emporium sold hockey equipment as well.

Central Park rink with various facilities at hand - changing, rest, perhaps food and beverage.

 

[James Laverance]

Regis-Francois Gignoux (French-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1816-1882) Skaters by the Mill...

 

[JMCx4]

A good perspective piece with photos of the former Montreal Forum, by Jeff Seide of The Hockey Writers: The Montreal Forum 1908-1996

 

[Canadiens1958]

A good perspective piece with photos of the former Montreal Forum, by Jeff Seide of The Hockey Writers: The Montreal Forum 1908-1996

The original 1908 version has a history. Built without the necessary permits and not to code, was viewed as a fire hazard by neighbours. Eventually demolished.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Sohmer Park. Roughly in the Plessis / Panet, Notre Dame / Dorchester area, the pavilion building (visible)

could be used for skating. Also nearby, couple of blocks east was the Jubilee Rink - outdoors facility, not to be confused with the Jubilee Arena where the Canadiens played briefly after the Westmount Arena Fire.

 

[Killion]

Sohmer Park...

Thats a neat old place, and walled with a gate huh? I take it the arched roofed building behind those gates the arena yes?... Park & walls to the park still there?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Thats a neat old place, and walled with a gate huh? I take it the arched roofed building behind those gates the arena yes?... Park & walls to the park still there?

All gone, more than fifty years ago and before. CBC complex area. The image shows the Pavilion. Same concept as the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa. Cement surface, multi-purpose. Natural ice could be put in in winter.

 

[WildGopher]

The original 1908 version has a history. Built without the necessary permits and not to code, was viewed as a fire hazard by neighbours. Eventually demolished.

Great article and hockey memories. A commentator at the bottom (not on HF Boards, but within the article) gets it wrong. The article is correct to say the Habs won 22 Cups while playing at the Forum. Their two other Cups, in 1916 and 1924, were before the Forum was built. They played in Westmount Arena in 1916 and Mount Royal Arena in '24. Most readers here know this, but the commentator chose to attack the author of the article, and got it wrong himself.

 

[Bood12]

October 18, 1955 - first hockey game held at the Winnipeg Arena. The Winnipeg Warriors played host to the Calgary Stampeders (Western Hockey League) in front of 9,671 spectators. The seating capacity upon opening was 9,500. The Winnipeg Arena would later become home to the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA in 1972 and later on when the Jets joined the NHL in 1979. The building continued to be the Jets home until 1996 when the franchise relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. The Manitoba Moose of the AHL would call the building 'home' from 1996 to 2004 when they moved into the new MTS Centre (now Bell MTS Place). The Winnipeg Arena would be demolished on March 26, 2006.

crazy 62 years later the Queen is still the head of state

 

[JMCx4]

crazy 62 years later the Queen is still the head of state

But she owns a LOT more hats now.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Chicago Stadium 1930

 

[Canadiens1958]

1880 Lacrosse on ice. Montreal played at The Tank. This is actually the McTavish Reservoir above McGill University at Pine Avenue.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Chicago Stadium 1930

I don't think I ever really noticed till now that Chicago Stadium had 4 decks. In more recent photos you can just barely see that first wall... looks like the bottom level was renovated into regular seats and "blended" with the second level at some point.

 

[Killion]

1880 Lacrosse on ice. Montreal played at The Tank. This is actually the McTavish Reservoir above McGill University at Pine Avenue.View attachment 94133

Beautiful old litho there C58..... and there we go uh?.... Lacrosse on blades....

 

[Canadiens1958]

Beautiful old litho there C58..... and there we go uh?.... Lacrosse on blades....

Importance of the image is that we have additional evidence that municpal reservoirs were used for skating related sports and activities in winter in the 19th century.

About a mile away the village of St.Louis( pre Montreal merger) had a smaller reservoir with reports of skating and hockey. The reservoir became Carré St.Louis, west of the Sherbrooke Metro entrance.

 

[Killion]

Importance of the image is that we have additional evidence that municpal reservoirs were used for skating related sports and activities in winter in the 19th century.

About a mile away the village of St.Louis( pre Montreal merger) had a smaller reservoir with reports of skating and hockey. The reservoir became Carré St.Louis, west of the Sherbrooke Metro entrance.

Very interesting... and sure, sloughs, dams, whatever froze be it as a result of man made earth works & so on or just naturally wherever... if it was big enough, ice thick enough, absolutely youd be have been seeing skaters playing stick & ball games in Upper & Lower Canada from the early 17th Century on, earlier in some places. And.... Lacrosse.... absolutely no question in my mind that it had a big influence on the game of hockey, the rough & tumble nature of Lacrosse, just general approach.