Winter Garden at Exposition Hall
Encyclopedia
The Winter Garden at Exposition Hall was Pittsburgh
's third major indoor skating rink which lasted from 1916 to 1920. It stood at the current site of Point State Park
. The facility consisted of three building: Main Hall, Music Hall and Machinery Hall. The Exposition was originally supposed to be a place for social gatherings where ideas and goods could be freely exchanged. However the facility later became Pittsburgh's primer indoor hockey
rink.
. A year after the society formed, the Pittsburgh City Council
approved the purchase of land at the Point along the shore of the Allegheny River
and granted a lease for 50 years. Life memberships and popular subscriptions raised nearly $1 million to complete the constructionThe first Exposition took place in September 1889 and was open to both Pittsburgh and out-of-state residents.
The Expo had a daily average attendance of 10,000 during the fall months. Many visitors were attracted to the automobile, poultry and trade shows, while others gathered to enjoy the best orchestras and bands in the nation. Victor Herbert
, John Phillip Sousa both played at the Exposition.
Fashion shows from New York City
and Paris attracted high society women while free samples of balloons, popcorn and dairy products captured the attention of ordinary citizens. A roller coaster, ferris wheel and merry-go-round captivated the children of the region. The complex had 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of exhibit space, an art gallery and the Music Hall that held 5,500 patrons. People travelled from great distances to join the locals; many wealthy patrons travelled up the Mississippi
and Ohio
rivers to moor their houseboats along the Allegheny's shore behind the Exposition site.
However disaster struck the Expo in 1901, when the complex was destroyed by a fire on St. Patrick's Day. Wind-blown embers from a stable fire on Duquesne Way engulfed the great Main Hall. Machinery Hall was the only survivng building on the six acre site. Most of the Exposition was rebuilt at a cost of $600,000 and included new versions of Machinery Hall, the Main Hall and the Music Hall. The new Main Hall was constructed of steel, stone and massive brick walls. The Main Hall's heavy doors were adorned with cut white stone and the interior was decorated and illuminated by 1,500 incandescent lights under a vaulted and girdered ceiling.
and a polio epidemic, the annual Exposition would be forced to an end in 1916. Hockey captured the fancy of local enthusiasts at the Duquesne Gardens
which was located in Oakland, Pennsylvania
. However ice time at the Gardens was scarce and demand for hockey was growing. So in 1915, chiller pipes and concrete were added to the floor of the Main Hall to convert it into an impressive sheet of ice. Using the latest technology, the ice freezing system pumped an ice forming solution at a rate of 15,000 gallons every minute to produce a minus 30 temperature on the floor.
Each year the Winter Garden was still in operational from November until April 1 for ice hockey. Many teams in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League
which included teams such as the Pittsburgh Keystones, Pittsburgh Duquesne
, Pittsburgh Lyceum
and Pittsburgh Fort Pitt used the Winter Garden for matches. Soon after one of Pittsburgh's earliest women's league formed at the Winter Garden. The size of the ice made hockey matches grueling tests of endurance and heavily favored the home teams. Visitors found the 300' x 140' playing surface too large. By comparison, today's NHL rinks measure 200' x 85'. but for the next four years.
The biggest hockey match witnessed at the Winter Garden featured the great Hobey Baker
on March 24, 1917. Baker, a star football
and hockey player from Priceton
, played an exhibition game with a cast of players from Philadelphia. Baker scored all three Philadelphia goals, including a the game winner in the third overtime period. It was the final hockey game Baker would play. He died in France
while serving in World War I
.
effort. The Main Hall was the last remaining building until 1951 when the structure was torn down to make way for the 37 acres (149,733.8 m²) Point State Park.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
's third major indoor skating rink which lasted from 1916 to 1920. It stood at the current site of Point State Park
Point State Park
Point State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River....
. The facility consisted of three building: Main Hall, Music Hall and Machinery Hall. The Exposition was originally supposed to be a place for social gatherings where ideas and goods could be freely exchanged. However the facility later became Pittsburgh's primer indoor hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
rink.
Early Beginnings
In 1885, the Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society, commonly called the Pittsburgh Exposition, were determined to have a venue that offered the feel of a county fair with the mystique of a World's FairWorld's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
. A year after the society formed, the Pittsburgh City Council
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
approved the purchase of land at the Point along the shore of the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
and granted a lease for 50 years. Life memberships and popular subscriptions raised nearly $1 million to complete the constructionThe first Exposition took place in September 1889 and was open to both Pittsburgh and out-of-state residents.
The Expo had a daily average attendance of 10,000 during the fall months. Many visitors were attracted to the automobile, poultry and trade shows, while others gathered to enjoy the best orchestras and bands in the nation. Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
, John Phillip Sousa both played at the Exposition.
Fashion shows from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Paris attracted high society women while free samples of balloons, popcorn and dairy products captured the attention of ordinary citizens. A roller coaster, ferris wheel and merry-go-round captivated the children of the region. The complex had 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of exhibit space, an art gallery and the Music Hall that held 5,500 patrons. People travelled from great distances to join the locals; many wealthy patrons travelled up the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
rivers to moor their houseboats along the Allegheny's shore behind the Exposition site.
However disaster struck the Expo in 1901, when the complex was destroyed by a fire on St. Patrick's Day. Wind-blown embers from a stable fire on Duquesne Way engulfed the great Main Hall. Machinery Hall was the only survivng building on the six acre site. Most of the Exposition was rebuilt at a cost of $600,000 and included new versions of Machinery Hall, the Main Hall and the Music Hall. The new Main Hall was constructed of steel, stone and massive brick walls. The Main Hall's heavy doors were adorned with cut white stone and the interior was decorated and illuminated by 1,500 incandescent lights under a vaulted and girdered ceiling.
Move to Hockey
During this time public interest in ice skating was growing in Pittsburgh and that interest served was the focus for converting the Main Hall into the Winter Garden. Also due to World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and a polio epidemic, the annual Exposition would be forced to an end in 1916. Hockey captured the fancy of local enthusiasts at the Duquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA during the first half of the 20th century. It opened 3 years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. The arena was the first hockey rink to use glass above the dasher...
which was located in Oakland, Pennsylvania
Oakland, Pennsylvania
Oakland is the name of some locations in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania:* Oakland , a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Oakland, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania* Oakland, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania...
. However ice time at the Gardens was scarce and demand for hockey was growing. So in 1915, chiller pipes and concrete were added to the floor of the Main Hall to convert it into an impressive sheet of ice. Using the latest technology, the ice freezing system pumped an ice forming solution at a rate of 15,000 gallons every minute to produce a minus 30 temperature on the floor.
Western Pennsylvania Hockey League
The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League , was a semi-professional ice hockey league from the early 1900s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league was the pre-eminent ice hockey league at the time in the United States...
which included teams such as the Pittsburgh Keystones, Pittsburgh Duquesne
Pittsburgh Duquesne
The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club or Pittsburgh Duquesne were an amateur and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. The team played exhibition games of ice hockey in the 1895–96 season, before being...
, Pittsburgh Lyceum
Pittsburgh Lyceum
The Pittsburgh Lyceum were a professional hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. After the WPHL was revived for the 1907-08 season, it was deteremined that two new teams would be needed so that the league could go back to its four...
and Pittsburgh Fort Pitt used the Winter Garden for matches. Soon after one of Pittsburgh's earliest women's league formed at the Winter Garden. The size of the ice made hockey matches grueling tests of endurance and heavily favored the home teams. Visitors found the 300' x 140' playing surface too large. By comparison, today's NHL rinks measure 200' x 85'. but for the next four years.
The biggest hockey match witnessed at the Winter Garden featured the great Hobey Baker
Hobey Baker
Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker was an American amateur athlete of the early twentieth century. Regarded as the first American star in ice hockey, he was also an accomplished football player. Born into a prominent family from Philadelphia, he enrolled at Princeton University in 1910...
on March 24, 1917. Baker, a star football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and hockey player from Priceton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, played an exhibition game with a cast of players from Philadelphia. Baker scored all three Philadelphia goals, including a the game winner in the third overtime period. It was the final hockey game Baker would play. He died in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
while serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Creation of Point State Park
The Winter Garden's last local hockey match was played in 1920. An agreement of sale of the Exposition property was reported in the April 9, 1920 edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but a transfer was never finalized. Pittsburgh city council agreed to lease and used the Expo property for the city's auto pound. The lease ended 20 years later in 1934. The Music Hall was demolished in 1941 and Machinery Hall was dismantled in 1942 to secure scrap metal for the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
effort. The Main Hall was the last remaining building until 1951 when the structure was torn down to make way for the 37 acres (149,733.8 m²) Point State Park.
Legacy
- The Winter Garden was Pittsburgh's third indoor rink.
- The Expo was the site where one of Pittsburgh's earliest women's league formed.
- The 300 feet (91.4 m) x 140 feet (42.7 m) sheet of ice was bigger than today's international size rinks.
- Hobey Baker played his last competitive hockey game at the Winter Garden on March 24, 1917.