Madison Square Garden....The Fourth?!

Did you know that New York City is currently on its FOURTH Version of Madison Square Garden? True enough: Four Venues in four different locations throughout the city.

The latest construction of "The World's Greatest Arena" (known in some circles as MSG IV) opened in 1968, but the original was built waaaayyy back almost 90 years earlier in 1879.

MSG I-The first Madison Square Garden opens its doors on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue in 1879. Unfortunately, the roofless Garden was hot in the summertime and freezing in the wintertime so it had a rather limited lifespan.

MSG II - The second incarnation opens on the same spot in 1890. Topping the Garden's tower was a statue of Diana which caused Madison Square Park to become known as "Diana's little wooded park".

MSG III -The third to bare the name, this MSG built in 1925 was located on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, on the site of the city's trolley-car barns Moving uptown, It was the first Garden that was not located near Madison Square. It was home to the Rangers, Knicks, Defunct NHL team The Americans and the annual NIT college basketball tournament.

MSG IV - Ah, the site we now all know an and love. It's a little trivia that most people don't know. The arena we have now is probably destined to remain for a long time and is currently undergoing a significant renovation.

The MSG Co. offers a great program called "The All Access Tour for Madison Square Garden." that's well worth a few bucks.

In the meantime, brush up on all of your Madison Square Garden history at this site below:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-madison-square-garden.html 

The Big Dog Show - 10 Facts about The Westminster Kennel Club 139th Annual Puppy Parade

Happening right this very moment at Madison Square Garden are royal grand finals or some such of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. A NYC tradition for pups, owners, fans and Christopher Guest.The Big Adventure thought we would supply some quality trivia and facts about the show lifted straight from their own site -http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org

Astonish your friends, amaze assorted dog owners and astound strangers with the following information: 

1. The Westminster Kennel Club was established in 1877, making it America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. 
2. First held in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America's second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby.
3.  The dog show has outlasted three previous versions of Madison Square Garden, and is currently being staged in MSG IV.
4. The first telecast of Westminster was in 1948, three years before "I Love Lucy" premiered.
5. A portion of the proceeds from Westminster's first show in 1877 was donated to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to establish a home for stray and disabled animals.
6. The Empire State Building first honored Westminster by lighting its tower in the Westminster colors of purple and gold in 2004 and will do so again in 2011.
7. There have been over 300,000 dogs entered in Westminster's 138 shows through 2013
8. Through the 2010 show, there have been 1,673 judges who have officiated at least once at Westminster, some as many as 23 times, at Westminster.
9. Two Best In Show winners, Norwich Terriers, had the same sire: 1994's Ch. Chidley's Willum the Conqueror and 1998's Ch. Fairewood Frolic were offspring (half brother/sister) of Ch. Royal Rock Don of Chidley. We don’t even know what any of that means.
10. In 1884, The Westminster Kennel Club became the first member of the American Kennel Club.
For what it's worth, The Sporting, Working, Terrier, and Best In Show competition is going to be televised live on USA Network from 8-11 PM ET

Hidden New York City Trivia - Part 3!

New York City Trivia - Questions about The Big Apple's Hidden Gems - Part III

On our recent New York City Hidden Germs Big Adventure, we took over the basement bar area of Puck Fair in SoHo, divided into teams and challenged our noggin with some quality trivia about all things hidden in NYC. We wanted to bring the quiz questions to the web and see how well you can handle these stumpers. Each day, The Big Adventure will bring you five of our questions from our NYC Trivia in six easy daily installments. Scroll down for link to answers. Behold, Round Three:

11. What infamous New York City crime boss was dubbed “Dapper Don” by the press?  

12. What New York City Island was reportedly bought from the Indians for 2 axe heads, a string of beads and some iron nails? (Hint: It Ain't Manhattan)

13.  What intersection marks the original site of Madison Square Garden?

14.  New York City has the largest urban parks system in the United States.  This includes recreation centers, golf courses, ball fields, zoological and botanical gardens, monuments, historic houses, beaches, forests, meadows and wetlands.  How many thousands of acres of parks does New York City have?

15.  There is one object, which can be seen all over the city, which has all of the following on it:  a beaver, barrels of flour, a sailor named Dexter, an Algonquin Indian named Sinister, a plummet for sounding channels, a cross-staff, a curved bow and a laurel branch.  On what object can all of these objects be found?

Ready for answers? Click here! 

Round four is coming your way tomorrow!