In 1874, circus master P.T. Barnum purchased an abandoned railroad shed at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Originally called, "Barnum's Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome," the open-air building was unveiled on April 27, 1874 and promoted spectacles featuring everything from chariot races to waltzing elephants to fire-eating showmen. The lease to Barnum's Hippodrome changed ownership and titles several times, becoming "Gilmore's Garden" in 1875, and eventually, " Madison Square Garden " on Memorial Day 1879 when William Vanderbilt took over the five-year-old facility and gave the building its now-famous name.

The open-air Garden stood until 1889 when it was demolished to build a $2 million structure at the same location. "Garden II" opened on June 16, 1890. It endured through 1925, when the New York Life Insurance Company, which held the mortgage on the property, decided to erect its headquarters on the site.

So Madison Square Garden was once again reincarnated. This time on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, the site of New York City 's trolley car barns. "Garden III," as the new structure was called, was built in 249 days. It would endure for 43 years.

In 1960, plans were announced for the construction of a fourth Madison Square Garden , to be located above Pennsylvania Railroad Station between 31st and 33rd streets on Seventh Avenue . Demolition of the old Penn Station began in 1963, the new foundations were poured in 1964, and the $116 million facility began to take shape. In February 1968, Garden III housed its final events: a Rangers hockey game that ended in a 3-3 tie with the Red Wings; a Knicks-76ers basketball game that closed with a 115-97 Knicks' victory; and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. That winter weekend marked the only time in history that Madison Square Garden events were held simultaneously in two buildings.

Meanwhile up the block, Madison Square Garden IV opened February 11, 1968 with a salute to the United Service Organizations (USO) starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. It was a star-studded celebration, the first of many to come at the new arena.

The Garden IV rests on an 820,000 square-foot plot of land. The facility includes the 20,000-seat main arena, The Theatre (formerly the Felt Forum and The Paramount, which holds 5,600), the 40,000-square foot Expo Center , two restaurants and 89 club suites.

Thirty years of memories are crammed into Madison Square Garden IV, including the most anticipated sporting event of the 20th century: the March 8, 1971 world heavyweight championship bout between boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The current Garden has seen the Knicks win two world championships (1970 and 1973) and the Rangers one (1994). The Rangers continued to two other Stanley Cup Finals in Garden IV, losing to the Boston Bruins in 1972 and the Montreal Canadiens in 1979, and the Knicks reached the NBA Finals under its roof in 1972, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, and 1994, losing to the Houston Rockets.

In addition to athletic greats, the biggest names in music have played Madison Square Garden throughout the past 30 years, including: Elvis Presley (1972); The Rolling Stones (1969, 1972, 1975, 1981, 1998); Barbra Streisand (1994, 2000); Frank Sinatra (1974, 1991); Michael Jackson (1988); Billy Joel (1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002); Elton John (1973, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002); Led Zeppelin (1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977); and Bruce Springsteen (1978, 1980, 1988, 1993, 2000).

The artist who has made the greatest number of appearences at The Garden is Elton John who has played the arena 55 times. A permanent installation honoring him is situated in the Mall. And the band that played more dates in the current Garden than any other? The Grateful Dead, rocking the arena an amazing 52 times from 1979 through 1994.

In October 2001, the Garden hosted The Concert For New York City to celebrate the strength, resilence and pride of New York City and America in the wake of the September 11th tragedy. More than 5,000 tickets were donated to families of rescue workers killed at the World Trade Center , and the money raised from the event was donated to The Robin Hood Foundation. The concert featured dozens of musicians and celebrities including The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.

The current Garden has also hosted awards shows such as The Grammys, the VH1 Fashion Awards, The VH1 Divas Awards, The Espys and the Essence Awards. And it is home once a year to elephants (Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus), dogs (Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show) and cats (The International Cat Show).

Professional boxing has made a strong comeback at The Garden with sold-out world championship bouts in both The Arena and The Theatre. Other events that call The Garden home are WWF Wrestling, professional tennis college basketball, including a slate of St. John's games and the Big East Tournament and others.

Today, three events trace their lineage back to the first, open-air Garden: the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which began in 1877; P.T. Barnum's traveling circus; and boxing. With such a long, rich history, it's easy to see how Madison Square Garden has become the "World's Most Famous Arena."