Stadium Seats and Stories From the Gardens
Over this weekend, I was lucky enough to add an original seat from the Cincinnati Gardens to my pair of Riverfront Stadium seats. I loved the Gardens and have a lot of great memories from there. I'm still hoping that I can maybe do one more story on the place and see it one last time before its date with the wrecking ball.
In the meantime, here's a look back at all the QC/D stories from the Gardens over the years.
Thanks for all of the seats, Dad.
"How Minor League Hockey Should Be" - a visit to Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum evokes nostalgia about minor league hockey at the Gardens and how the building was a superior venue for the sport. At the time, there were rumors of an IHL 2.0 team potentially returning to the building. Ultimately, the second incarnation of the IHL died out and minor league hockey never returned, although junior hockey did.
A story from the early days of QC/D - which featured some grainy black and white photos with a brief look at the building's history.
"Crosstown Knockdown 2014" - The Cincinnati Rollergirls were an awesome group to watch at the Gardens. This story looked at their annual matchup with the Northern Kentucky squad across the river. These days, the Rollergirls are still going strong over on the campus of Xavier University. Another story from 2014 took a look at the Rollergirls preparing for the Crosstown match. There was a chance that it could be the last one at the Gardens.
"Monster Trucks at the Gardens" - Day drinking $1 beers and watching giant trucks smash cars.
"The Greatest Show in Town" - A story I did on the Syrian Shrine Circus and their usual stop in the building.
...and then there's my favorite story: For years I wondered what the deal was with the windows and rooms above the arena. Thanks to a friend, I got to go up there above the scoreboard and tell the tale of the "Press Box That Never Was:"
Also worth mentioning, but not about the Gardens directly, Dayton, Ohio also lost its classic hockey barn this past year. The story of Hara Arena:
View all the stories from and related to the Cincinnati Gardens over the years.
Update | March 13, 2018:
- The Gardens has now been demolished. I was able to visit one last time while the place was coming down.