Montreal Arena
Westmount Arena | |
Canadian Arena Company | |
Capacity | 4,300 10,000 (temporary) |
---|---|
Surface | Natural ice (1898) Artificial (1915) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1898 |
Opened | December 31, 1898 |
Closed | 1918 |
Demolished | 1918 |
Tenants | |
Montreal Canadiens (NHA, NHL) (1911–1918) Montreal Wanderers (NHA, NHL) (1904–1909, 1911–1918) |
The Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an
Description
Opened on December 31, 1898, it held 10,000 people, 4300 seated. It held a refreshment buffet and smoking rooms, with rugs available for rental to sit on.
The ice rink ends were not squared off but rounded off. The ends were somewhat semi-circular, possibly the first design of its kind. A puck could be shot along the outside rim, slide along the corners, pass behind the goal and come out the other side. That type of shot is common in hockey today and is called "rimmed around." The rounded-corners design spread to other arenas. In 1902, after Ottawa's Dey Rink was demolished due to a storm, it was rebuilt with rounded ends to match the Montreal Arena.[2] The fence along the ice surface was increased in height to 4 feet (1.2 m), an increase from the Victoria Skating Rink's one foot high boards.[3] The first artificial ice-making plant in Montreal was installed in the Arena in 1915.[4]
The owners of the Montreal Arena, the Canadian Arena Company, later built the Arena Gardens in Toronto, and operated the Toronto NHL franchise in 1917–18. Principals of the Arena Company, such as William Northey, would later be involved in the building of the Montreal Forum and the founding of the Montreal Maroons.
The Montreal Canadiens won their first (pre-NHL) Stanley Cup in this building on March 30, 1916 against the Portland Rosebuds.
Fire
A fire started in the ice-making plant causing the arena to burn down on January 2, 1918. It began mid-day, when the only people in the building were the superintendent James McKeene and his family, who were eating in their apartment on the north side of the structure; all escaped safely but they lost most of their belongings, as well as a car stored in the annex.[5] Damage was estimated at $150,000, including the uniforms and sticks of the Wanderers and Canadiens, with only a third covered by insurance.[5] The blaze led the Montreal Wanderers, already on shaky grounds, to disband within days and the Canadiens to move back to Jubilee Arena, which itself would be destroyed by fire, the next year.[5] In 1924, the new Montreal Forum was built one block to the east.
Today
A condominium building currently sits on the site. Previously a warehouse had been on the site after the fire that destroyed the arena.
Usage
At first, it hosted the Montreal senior men's amateur hockey teams of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, including the Montreal, Shamrock and Victoria hockey clubs. The Wanderers would start play there in 1904. Later, it served as the home rink for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League from 1911 until 1918.
In 1907, it was the site of one of hockey's first player brawls. On January 12, 1907, the game between the heated rivals
The newly formed
The building was also used for exhibition space. Horse shows, car shows, motor-boat displays, concerts, and bazaars were held. New York's Metropolitan Opera performed at the arena, as well as singers such as Melba, Caruso, Calve and Albani.[8]
See also
References
- Kitchen, Paul (2008). Win, Tie or Wrangle. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5.
- Vigneault, Michel (1997). "Montreal Ice-Hockey Rinks:1875-1917". Hockey Research Journal. Vol. 3.
- Notes
- ^ Coleman, Charles (1966). Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol 1., 1893-1926 inc.
- ^ Kitchen(2008), p. 112
- ^ Vigneault 1997, p. 8.
- ^ Vigneault 1997, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d Prewitt, Alex (February 11, 2017). "The most famous fire in hockey history: The day the Montreal Arena burned down". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
- ^ Stubbs, Dave (January 12, 2007). "It was butchery, not sport, in Westmount". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Boswell, Randy (April 16, 2017). "Solving the mystery of the NHL's 1st game". CBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ Vigneault 1997, pp. 8–9.