{"id":1102,"date":"2013-12-30T05:01:23","date_gmt":"2013-12-30T05:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:45:26","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:45:26","slug":"demolition-of-duquesne-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/12\/30\/demolition-of-duquesne-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"Demolition of Duquesne Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interior <\/a>
Interior of the Gardens, circa 1900. (Photo credit: Unknown) <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The ice rink, prepared for hockey in 1901. (Photo credit: Unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Demolition <\/a>
Demolition was nearly complete in September 1956. (Post-Gazette photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

In 1910, two boxers \u2014 Stanley Ketchel and Frank Klaus \u2014 fought a six-round bout in the old Duquesne Gardens on Craig Street in Oakland. Newspapers fairly hyperventilated in anticipation. \u201cNever in the pugilistic history of Pittsburg have fans been worked into such a frenzy of excitement,\u201d wrote The Pittsburg Press. (At the time, Pittsburgh was without its \u201ch.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Ketchel was perhaps the nation\u2019s most admired fighter. He was known as the \u201cMichigan Assassin\u201d and motivated himself before each fight by imagining his opponent had insulted his mother. Klaus was a local kid, the \u201cEast Pittsburg Bear-Cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the city\u2019s largest fight crowds packed into the Gardens, only to witness the \u201crawest exhibition of stalling and fiddling ever seen in a Pittsburg ring,\u201d declared a Press writer fittingly named Jim Jab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis throng deserved fair treatment from the gladiators,\u201d huffed Jab. \u201cDid they get it? No! Ketchel and Klaus pulled off a flagrant frame-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bout ended in a draw, and the roar of disgust among fight fans filled the converted trolley barn. It was another big night at the Gardens.<\/p>\n

There would be many others before the structure became too creaky and old and outdated to be of much use. It was demolished in 1956, the last remnants leveled by a concrete-filled safe that served as a wrecking ball.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another memorable event at the Gardens: In 1925, a record crowd of 10,000 watched the inaugural game of the Pittsburgh Pirates professional hockey team. \u201cThey certainly outplayed the \u2018big town\u2019 skaters\u2019 from New York,\u201d tooted the Press. Still, the Pirates lost 2-1. \u201cIt was a great game played by great players and left a great impression on the fans,\u201d declared the not-so-great story.<\/p>\n

Hockey and boxing were big draws \u2014 local fighters Billy Conn and Fritzie Zivic were regulars. And the joint was home to the short-lived Pittsburgh Ironmen of the Basketball Association of America, forerunner of the NBA.<\/p>\n

But the Gardens would host just about any event, from private parties to summer operas to major political events to bizarre athletic competitions.<\/p>\n

A six-day roller skating race was scheduled at the Gardens in 1911. Surely it was riveting to witness. Contestants were required to skate 10 hours each day. And this was no team event \u2014 it was \u201cevery man for himself,\u201d promoters promised.<\/p>\n

Next came an auto show. \u00a0\u201cEvery Known Device for Pleasure and Profit in Motoring Will Be on Exhibition at Duquesne Garden,\u201d a headline teased.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the show was too successful. Newspapers reported in 1912 that negotiations were underway to convert the Gardens into an \u201cautomobile garage.\u201d It never came to pass. Foreclosure threatened the Gardens in 1931. The city\u2019s primary indoor entertainment facility survived that, too.<\/p>\n

None of us at the Digs have any memories of the Gardens. To us, it serves simply as a window through which we can view Pittsburgh as it once was \u2014 a city in need of a place where residents could cheer athletes, skate to the music of a live orchestra, listen to politicians thunder words of outrage and hope and, in the summer, enjoy operas such as \u201cRobin Hood,\u201d \u201cGirl from Paris\u201d and \u201cWizard of the Nile.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was demolished in 1956, the last remnants leveled by a concrete-filled safe that served as a wrecking ball.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesDemolition of Duquesne Gardens<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[975,981,1046],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_my4meuFnls1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=936%2C615&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1972,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/03\/13\/record-flood-inundates-pittsburgh-in-1907\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":0},"title":"Record flood inundates Pittsburgh in 1907","date":"March 13, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"When the flood of March 1907 deluged the city at the confluence of three rivers, Pittsburg was spelled without its h.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tumblr_mjjwxkZjj51rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":879,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/10\/daylight-saving-time-hits-pittsburg\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":1},"title":"Daylight Saving Time hits Pittsburg","date":"March 10, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Things were not always as easy as \"spring forward, fall back.\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n238ueSQXD1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1129%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2400,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/19\/the-wabash-bridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":2},"title":"The Wabash Bridge","date":"October 19, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The rail cars were from the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal Railroad, an ill-fated venture by George Jay Gould to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburgh.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mc3hybsuae1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2595,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/27\/oct-28-1941-duquesne-coach-buff-donelli-left\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":3},"title":"Duquesne coach Buff Donelli","date":"August 27, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Donelli made history as the only man to coach a college team and an NFL squad at the same time.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tumblr_m99nh8UXhG1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2580,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/31\/candidate-henry-wallace-campaigns-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":4},"title":"Candidate Henry Wallace campaigns in Pittsburgh","date":"August 31, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Pittsburgh Press argued, \u201cThis newspaper can see no merit in Mr. Wallace\u2019s candidacy.\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tumblr_m9l2ggs9ad1rr5swxo1_12801.jpg?fit=1200%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1573,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/07\/24\/pittsburghs-bridge-to-nowhere\/","url_meta":{"origin":1102,"position":5},"title":"Pittsburgh’s bridge to nowhere","date":"July 24, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Fort Duquesne Bridge now serves as a connection between Downtown and the North Side, spanning the Allegheny River. 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