History
Boston Garden opened in November 1928, built above the North Station rail terminal on Causeway Street and originally promoted as a Boston counterpart to Tex Rickard's Madison Square Garden. Its first event was a boxing card, and the Bruins moved in days later.
The Celtics arrived in 1946 and turned the building's parquet floor into one of basketball's best-known surfaces, winning a string of NBA titles there between 1957 and 1986. The Bruins also lifted the Stanley Cup on home ice in 1939 and 1970.
By the 1980s the aging arena was showing its limits; power failures interrupted Stanley Cup Final games in 1988 and 1990. The FleetCenter (today's TD Garden) opened beside it in 1995, the Garden closed that September, and it was dismantled in 1998. The Hub on Causeway now occupies the land.
Why it matters: Home to the Bruins for 67 seasons and to the Celtics through nine NBA titles clinched on its parquet, it was one of the defining arenas of mid-century pro hockey and basketball.
Timeline
- November 17, 1928
The arena's first event was a boxing card; the Bruins played their first game there three days later.
- 1986Celtics' last title won on home floor[1]
The Celtics' 1986 NBA championship was among nine Finals titles the team secured at the Garden.
- May 24, 1988Power failure halts Stanley Cup Final game[1]
Game 4 of the 1988 Stanley Cup Final was suspended when the building lost power.
- May 14, 1995Last official game[1]
The New Jersey Devils beat the Bruins 3-2 in Game 5 of a playoff series, the last official game in the building.
- September 1995
A Bruins-Canadiens preseason exhibition and banner ceremony closed the arena; sources give dates of September 26, 28 and 29, 1995 for the closing events.
- 1998
The building was torn down in 1998; Wikipedia gives March-September 1998 and When and Where in Boston gives May 1998.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,3,4] |
|---|---|
| Current use | The Hub on Causeway commercial development[1] |
| Surviving remnants | Portions of the original parquet floor were incorporated into the parquet used at TD Garden; seats, bricks and floor pieces were sold as souvenirs[1] |
| Mapped location | Approximate historic location |
Teams & events
| Boston Bruins | NHL · 1928–1995 |
|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | BAA/NBA · 1946–1995 |
| Boston Braves | National League · 1971–1974 · tenant |
| New England Whalers | WHA · 1973–1974 · tenant |
| Boston Blazers | MILL · 1992–1995 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | Boston Madison Square Garden (1928); The Garden |
|---|---|
| Location | 150 Causeway Street, above North Station, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts[1,2] |
| Venue type | Arena |
| Sports | Hockey, Basketball, Boxing & wrestling |
| Level | NHL, NBA, WHA, Minor League |
| Opened | November 17, 1928[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | September 1995[1,3,4] |
| Demolished | 1998[1,3,4] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 13,909[1] |
| Final capacity | 14,890[1] |
| Capacity notes | Wikipedia: 13,909 for hockey and basketball 1928-1968; final basketball 14,890 (1983-1995), final hockey 14,448 (1988-1995). |
| Architect | Tex Rickard; Funk & Wilcox Company[1] |
| Construction cost | $4 million (Wikipedia infobox; body text gives $10 million)[1] |
| Owner / operator | Boston and Maine Corporation (1928-1965), later Linnell & Cox, Storer Broadcasting and Delaware North (1975-1997)[1] |
| Closure | Replaced by the larger, modern FleetCenter (now TD Garden) built immediately adjacent. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Boston Garden (Wikipedia), Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened, owner operator, remnants, teams
- Boston Garden - Boston Sports Temples exhibition, Digital Public Library of America. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, opened, teams
- Boston Garden closes, When and Where in Boston. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: closed, demolished
- The Boston Garden closed 20 years ago today, but the mystery of the monkey lives on, Boston.com. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: closed, demolished
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (3)
- Closing date: Wikipedia infobox September 28, 1995 (with a farewell event September 29); When and Where in Boston gives September 26, 1995; Boston.com gives September 28, 1995. Recorded at month precision.
- Construction cost: Wikipedia infobox $4 million vs body text $10 million.
- Demolition: Wikipedia March-September 1998 vs When and Where in Boston May 1998.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.