68 Years Ago

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

 I've mentioned this before but the Cincinnati Gardens is inching ever so close to becoming a distant memory. After the initial shock of the sale last summer and the announcement that it'll be shuttered as an active arena, I'd finally made peace with the fact it will no longer be around. Then today on Twitter I saw that it was the 68th anniversary of the Gardens opening and nostalgia came flooding back.

68 years ago today, February 22, 1949, The Cincinnati Gardens opened to the public for its first-ever event. pic.twitter.com/NgZK2AF2uQ

— Cincinnati Gardens (@CincyGardens) February 22, 2017

Photo Credit: Ronny Salerno
http://www.queencitydisco.com

The picture above was taken by local photographer Ronny Salerno of the awesome Queen City Discovery site as in a great shot of the interior of the old hockey barn out on Seymour Avenue is a less than desirable part of town. The reason I chose to use this picture to show the inside is because 68 years ago, the Gardens opened with an exhibition hockey game between Montreal and their farm team, the Dallas Texans. That first week saw both an University of Cincinnati and a Xavier University basketball game, and a boxing match featuring Ezzard Charles but hockey is really what made the Gardens.

Over the years, numerous teams played there, the Mohawks, the Swords, the first iteration of the Cyclones, and the Mighty Ducks just to name a few. Once the Mighty Ducks left town, the Gardens was left without a pro hockey team for the first time in its history. There was a team that was supposed to replace them, the Railraiders, but they never took the ice.

Today, the dasher boards have been pulled up, the scoreboard has been lowered, the seats and memorabilia have been auctioned off, and the last fans have long ago exited the building. As I mentioned in my post back in the summer, I'm going to miss the old place, despite the fact the last event I went to there was in 2011. I only went to three events there, all pro wrestling events, and I still have the ticket stubs as proof that I set foot in the legendary venue.

Now, even though the wrecking ball is imminent, the memories will remain. All that's left for now is to turn out the lights ...

Final day of moving out, 8/17/16. Thanks for the memories old girl. Last one out, turn off the lights... pic.twitter.com/DKpmQS0bjC

— Cincinnati Gardens (@CincyGardens) August 18, 2016

Good bye, old friend, it's been fun.

Save the Gardens

Photo: Wikipedia

The Cincinnati Gardens is on its death bed.

I was stunned today when I heard the news that the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority had entered into an agreement to purchase the Gardens and demolish it to make room for future development. The old arena in the Bond Hill section of Cincinnati would be no more. After I heard the news, I took to Twitter and tried to find out more info but all I found was articles from different local news outlets with the same story. I did however find one random tweet that was a petition to keep the Gardens open.

Help keep the Gardens open https://t.co/WsfHXM6FA2 pic.twitter.com/iulP13c0fK

— Cole Carle (@Cole2Carle) June 15, 2016

I was thrilled to find someone who cared about the venue as much as I did. I immediately signed the petition and retweeted it.

But why do I love this venue so much? What makes it so special?

The Gardens is 67 years old and the first event there was an exhibition game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Texans on February 22, 1949. The last event would have been a Cincinnati Roller girls game earlier this month. In between, it hosted concerts, political rallies, boxing, pro wrestling, circuses, numerous sports teams, and thousands of other events both big and small throughout the years.

For me, it's the place where I saw my first live wrestling show with my dad and in recent years, I saw a handful of other events there. For many others it's the place where they saw Oscar Robertson play when he was a member of the Cincinnati Royals, it's the old hockey barn where teams like the Mohawks, Swords, Cyclones, Mighty Ducks, and Xavier University hockey played. When you walk into to an event there, you feel connected to the past and it has character.  The lobby, the old ticket windows, the old signage, everything. It's character and it's what sets it apart from its soulless downtown cousin U.S. Bank Arena.

After I heard the news today, I felt like I had to do everything I could to save the Gardens. But now, after sitting on it for a bit, maybe it's good that the old arena sees it final days. Maybe it's good that it gets demolished for more jobs that may or may not ever come. I can't help but think that if the Gardens does get demolished for many it will be like losing a family member. I know it will be for me.

If you want to sign the petition to help save the Cincinnati Gardens from demolition, click here. If you want to share it on social media, please use the hashtag #savethegardens

I feel better for talking about this now. It was just one of those things I had to get off my chest and I appreciate you reading my ramblings on an old, forgotten arena. I sure will miss the old place if it does meet its demise and I'll probably be there the day they drop the wrecking ball on it taking pictures just so I can say I was there to say my goodbyes.