Site redevelopedBoxing & wrestling Hockey

St. Nicholas Arena

New York, New York · Arena

St. Nicholas Arena on West 66th Street in Manhattan opened as an ice rink in 1896 and was one of New York's main boxing clubs from 1906 until it closed in 1962. It later became an ABC television studio and was demolished in the 1980s.

Opened: 1896
Closed: 1962
Demolished: 1980–1989
Capacity: —

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History

The St. Nicholas Rink opened on November 7, 1896, for skating and ice hockey and hosted figure skating championships until 1918. Boxing arrived in 1906, and over the next half-century Jack Johnson, Jess Willard, Kid Chocolate and Rocky Graziano fought there; Floyd Patterson made his professional debut there in 1952.

Cassius Clay stopped Billy Daniels there on May 19, 1962, nine days before the arena closed. ABC used the building as a television production center, and after it was demolished in the 1980s the site became ABC's main offices.

Why it matters: One of Manhattan's leading small boxing clubs for more than 50 years.

Timeline

November 7, 1896
Opened as an ice rink[1]
The St. Nicholas Rink opened for skating and ice hockey.
1906
Boxing introduced[1]
Boxing was introduced after a decade of ice sports only.
1952
Patterson's pro debut[1]
Floyd Patterson had his first professional fight there.
May 19, 1962
Cassius Clay fights[1]
Cassius Clay stopped Billy Daniels in the seventh round.
May 28, 1962
Closed[1,2]
The arena held its last boxing and closed.

The site today

Physical status	Site redeveloped[1,2]
Current use	ABC network offices[1]
Mapped location	Former venue site

Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)

Venue facts

Other names	St. Nicholas Rink
Location	69 West 66th Street, Manhattan, New York, New York[1]
Venue type	Arena
Sports	Boxing & wrestling, Hockey
Level	Boxing, Amateur hockey
Opened	November 7, 1896[1,2]
Last used for sports	May 28, 1962[1,2]
Demolished	1980–1989[1,2]
Physical status	Site redeveloped

Documented details

Jack Johnson, Jess Willard, Kid Chocolate and Rocky Graziano all fought there.[1]
After boxing ended the building became a television production center for ABC and WABC-TV.[1]

Sources

St. Nicholas Arena, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19
Supports: address, closed, current land use, demolished, events, opened
St. Nicholas Rink, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19
Supports: closed, coordinates, demolished, opened

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.

See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.

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