The Demise of the Garden

By Amy Fernandez

For over a decade we’ve heard rumors about the imminent demise of Westminster’s home base. Naturally, it’s hard to imagine since the club’s relationship with Madison Square Garden is now into its third century.

And just possibly, this partnership is destined to continue. At least, that was the latest word from Albany when the Governor announced his newest $3 billion dollar Penn Station revamp a few weeks ago.

The original Penn Station, demolished in 1963, was replaced with the current subterranean maze beneath the Garden in 1970. Officially, it’s 40 years old. In reality, parts of it date back to the early 1900s. Along with its dodgy structural condition, the volume of commuter traffic has skyrocketed during those decades. Originally designed to accommodate about 200,000 daily passengers, it now serves over 700,000 as the major hub for both the LIRR an NJ Transit (which had no train system at all when the station first opened). Penn Station now serves over 10 million commuters annually and, trust me, things get pretty hairy during rush hour.

Rather than razing the whole deal ­– which was the controversial plan that has been making the rounds since 2013, the new proposal to overhaul and redesign Penn Station would shift most of the expansion  and reconstruction to the huge Farley Post Office across the street on west side of Eighth Avenue. In that case, the Garden would more or less be off the hook and allowed to remain in its current spot. It does require demolishing the MSG Paramount Theater to make way for a grand concourse running from Seventh Avenue to an entrance on Eighth Avenue. So, things would be a mess, but that never stops a dog show of course!

Reportedly, the Garden’s owners are on board for this one and the pieces seem to be falling into place for it to remain there for the foreseeable future.

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Posted by admin on Feb 12 2016. Filed under Dog Show History, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.