Philadelphia Arena

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The Philadelphia Arena was an arena used mainly for sporting events located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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The building, originally named the Philadelphia Ice Palace and Auditorium, was located at 4530 Market Street, next to what would become the WFIL TV Studio which broadcast American Bandstand. It was built by George F. Pawling, of George F. Pawling & Co., Engineers and Contractors, and opened on Valentine's Day, Friday, February 14, 1920. The first event was two nights later, Sunday, February 16, 1920, a college hockey game between the Yale Bulldogs and Princeton Tigers; the Bulldogs won, 4-0, before a crowd of over 4,000 despite the fact that the arena had only one small entrance at the time.

Jules Mastbaum, owner of a movie theater chain, acquired the building in 1925 and re-named it the Arena. In 1927 the Arena was purchased by Rudy Freed and Maurice Fishman who operated the facility until 1934, when the their partnership was placed in receivership. In 1929, Peter A. Tyrrell (1896-1973), joined the Arena as boxing matchmaker and subsequently became the facilitie’s publicist. In 1934 Tyrrell was named a friendly receiver-in equity by George Welsh, a federal judge. Tyrrell became general manager of the Arena and served in that capacity until 1958, returning the corporation to profitability and enriching the variety of public entertainment. In 1940, the Arena joined 9 other Arena’s to form Ice Capades. Tyrrell was elected President of the new ice show venture and the original show was rehearsed at the Arena, in the spring of that year, before opening in the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium on June 16, 1940.

The arena was the site of several historic sporting events, including the professional debut of Sonja Henie, fresh from her triumph in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Roy Rogers, cowboy movie star performed in his first rodeo at the Philadelphia arena in 1943. The Roy Rogers Rodeo played the Arena every season for more than 20 years, and in 1946, when a young cowgirl died after riding a bucking bronco, her funeral was held there. Rogers and the Sons of Pioneers sang "Roundup in the Sky," and after the closing prayer, everybody rode out to the cemetery. It was also the home of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet. Professionally, the arena was the home of the Philadelphia Quakers of the NHL in their only season, 1930-1931, as well as the main home of the Philadelphia Warriors and part-time home of the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA.

The arena was also a major venue for boxing and wrestling before the opening of The Spectrum. Throughout the history of the Arena, such legends as Sugar Ray Robinson, Lew Tendler, Gene Tunney, Joe Frazier and Primo Carnera fought there. Several championship wrestling matches occurred there, both for the NBA and the WWWF. Roller Derby also was held there, through the team named the Philadelphia Warriors, not connected with the basketball team, owned by Bill Griffiths, the owner of the Los Angeles Thunderbirds and Roller Games.

The Arena was not used as much for political and other events, as those events tended to be held at Convention Hall. However, many of the city's mayoral inauguration parties were held there. Evangelist Billy Sunday spoke there, and before the United States entered World War II, Charles A. Lindbergh gave a speech before an America First Committee Meeting.

In 1947 the Arena was sold to Triangle Publications, along with the NBA franchise and the Philadelphia Warriors Basketball team. This transaction made TV station WFIL TV owned by Triangle Publications, the first joint ownership of a major professional sports team and TV station. In 1958, a group headed by Tyrrell purchased the Arena from the Walter Annenberg Foundation, to which ownership had been transferred by Triangle Publications. At the time of Tyrrell’s retirement in 1965, the Arena building was sold at auction to James Toppi Enterprises, a sports promotion concern.

The building fell out of popular use in the 1970s, due to the building of the Spectrum in 1967. In 1977, the building was auctioned off and renamed in honor of Martin Luther King. The arena was finally destroyed by fire on August 24, 1983.