Championship Banners Ceiling
The legendary home of the Celtics and Bruins, where history was made on parquet and ice.
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard and opened on November 17, 1928. It hosted the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins, and was demolished in 1998.
Quick Facts
- First banner raised
- 1957 Championship (raised in 1957 after the Celtics won their first title)
Lore & Background
The parquet floor was built and installed in the Boston Arena and moved to the Garden in 1952. The Celtics knew which way the basketball would bounce off any section of the floor, contributing to their many NBA championships. The floor was cut into small pieces and sold as souvenirs.
Reader's Guide
The Garden's first event was a boxing card on November 17, 1928. The first team sporting event was a Bruins vs. Canadiens hockey game on November 20, 1928. The arena had no air conditioning, and its hockey rink was undersized at 58.2 x 25.3 m.
Did You Know?
- The Garden was originally named 'Boston Madison Square Garden' and later shortened to just 'Boston Garden'.
- During the 1985–86 season, the Celtics were 40–1 at home, setting an NBA record for home court mastery.
- The Garden's overhead scoreboard was electro-mechanical, not electronic.
- The Bruins' Stanley Cup finals appearances in 1988 and 1990 were both disrupted by power outages.
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