The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward) was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a trolley barn, before becoming a multi-purpose arena. The Gardens opened three years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. Over the years, the Gardens was the home arena of several of Pittsburgh's historic sports teams, such as ice hockey's Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Hornets. The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which was the first ice hockey league to openly hire and trade players, played all of its games at the Gardens. The arena was also the first hockey rink to ever use glass above the dasher boards. Developed locally by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Herculite glass was first tested in Pittsburgh. Most rinks were using wire mesh before the shatterproof glass was invented. Finally, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association), played at the Gardens from 1946 to 1947. Outside team sports, the Duquesne Garden Ball Room, located on the arena's second floor, was also one of the largest dance halls in the country during the time. History Beginnings: 1890–1910 Duquesne Garden was originally built in 1890 as a trolley barn for the Duquesne Traction Company in the city's Oakland neighborhood. In 1895, Christopher Lyman Magee, a Pittsburgh politician, spent nearly $500,000 ($ in ) to purchase and renovate the building. He named the transformed structure Duquesne Garden, although it was always called the "Arena" by the locals. The Garden, which had the world's largest indoor ice rink and a second-floor ballroom, became a premier indoor venue. Speed skating, roller skating, dance contests, musical performances, roller derby, bicycle racing, and college basketball were all hosted at the Garden, as were rodeos and the circus. The Garden also featured Pittsburgh Golden Gloves boxing and housed a movie theater. The Duquesne Garden Ball Room, located on the second floor, has been used by some of the leading clubs and societies in the city for their annual dances. The building quickly became the site for all manner of gatherings: There were opera performances, boxing matches and political rallies. However, the facility's main attraction was its artificial ice surface, unrivaled in North America. Most other American