Demolition of the Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio

www.HistoryInYourOwnBackyard.com
[e-mail]
812-623-5727
The Cincinnati Gardens opened in 1949 and was a venue for sporting events such as Basketball, Hockey & Boxing. The facility was also used for concerts, ice skating shows, circuses, political rallies, roller derbies and political rallies.
The facility was sold to the Cincinnati Port Authority in 2016 and demolished in 2018.
In this video we cover the entire history of Cincinnati Gardens including the demolition of the building.
GPS Location: 39°10'52.0"N 84°27'21.2"W

[@tonkabeanpumpkin-fh4fz]

My parents took me to the Ice Capades here more than once in the early '60s. They also brought me to a Harry Belafonte concert here. My dad and I saw the Lipezzanner Stallions at Cincinnati Gardens, and it's where I saw The Monkees, (I had a huge crush on Mickey Dolenz at age 12 or so; how I screamed at that concert! lol,) and Sammy Davis, Jr. Later, I went with dates to see Blood, Sweat and Tears and Three Dog Night there. Miss it, and I miss CIncinnati very much!

[@angelicanmn]

I have so many great memories of Cincinnati Gardens; ice skating on Saturdays and most importantly my first concert, The Jackson 5!

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

The good old days...

[@NOC1TIME]

So many memories at that place.

[@RealSasquatchWatch]

i miss the Gardens. worked there for the mighty ducks, saw shows... damn i miss it. it was old, but awesome. when u walked in, you *felt* the history

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Exactly!!!

[@earnhardt3613]

Elvis Presley performed at the Gardens and stayed down the street on Reading Rd at The Carousel Motel i went with my mom and aunt there back in the 60's and 70's.....Great memories !!

[@tproudboomer5965]

I lived south of Dayton in the eighties. We used to alternate between Hara Arena and the Cincinnati Gardens for metal shows. Between the two venues it seems like there were hard rock or metal concerts going on almost every week or two. Lots of great memories (at least the ones I can remember😂)!

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Good deal.

[@jeffpetrey69]

Cincinnati Gardens another wonderful venue in Cincinnati Ohio that had the honor of seeing many great musicians perform here !

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

It was a cool place.

[@natetill812]

I literally laughed out loud when you showed the ball stuck on the outside wall. Used to travel to play hockey there and my teammates and I would always look at that thing lol

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

I never noticed it until I met the guy who tossed it up there. Great story!

[@seanshafer2253]

My grandfather owned a lot of property around the Gardens, parking, car lots and oils company. I got to park cars, do maintenance and eat at Coney Chef across the street …lots of memories

[@seanshafer2253]

And we ice skated at the adjacent building late grade school and early high school with our friends

[@ynot0714]

My mom saw the Monkees there, I remember a few Swords and Cyclones game as well as Rodeo and Circus events!

[@christopherwoycke1959]

One thing that doesn't get mentioned often about the Cincinnati Gardens: The "exhibition / skating center" (adjacent to the main Gardens) was a roller skating rink for a few years in the early 1980's. Every weekend hundreds of kids / teens skated there. I was one of the DJ's back then. Good Times !

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

I think that portion of the building was shown in the video, wasn't it?

[@SandyWolf-]

I grew up going to the gardens what a great place it was!

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

Yes it was!

[@gayleputt]

I remember attending several Greater Cincinnati Charity Horse Shows here, probably in the 60s. The parking lot by the Gardens was filled with temporary stalls in tents....to a horse loving kid it was heaven.

[@charleswashington5888]

I remember my father took me to see The Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Ice-Capades, and The Harlem Globetrotters. In me teenage years I went to see The Fresh Fest, and in the late 90's I saw WWE Smackdown. I still miss The Gardens.

[@robertsneed7689]

Many memories I had there at the Cincinnati gardens.

[@SandyWolf-]

I cant believe they didnt sell the seats

[@deanc.5984]

The Rollar Girls skate derby, The Kings indoor soccer!! Good times.

[@dalejensen5828]

I cannot understand why a historic, beautiful facility like this would be torn down. It looked to be very well maintained and of value to the community. I never heard of it until seeing this video as am not familiar with Cincinnati.

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

The owner tried to sell the building for 2 years with no offers. The Cincinnati Port Authority came along and offered to buy it with the intent of demolishing the building and using the property for other development. Which is what they are doing now.

[@robertrawtokerpokermeranda6630]

Born in Norwood Ohio 1964, seen many events, campers shows, ice hockey, circus, & music.. saw AC⚡DC twice.

[@kennyburck3368]

Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Dokken, Ronnie James Dio, on an on, on and on it’s Heaven and Hell The 80’s were amazing 🤘

[@christopherstevenrankin]

I saw ozzy there in summer of 92

[@kevind8752]

I saw the Beatles there with my brother in Aug 1964.

[@MDJ-wb1pn]

Hockey, pro wrestling and rock concerts. Just a great venue.

[@bumrush9422]

Saw my first concert there in '65. The Beech Boys.

[@dalehaarman1682]

Rode my bike to the Gardens, leaned it against the back wall and banged on the doors until someone let me in! NEVER worried about the bike being stolen! NEVER! Saw Chamberlain, Russell, Pettit, Big O, etc!

[@arsbadmojo]

I love this guy's passion!

[@whodeycinbengals]

I lived part of my childhood in Cincinnati and I remember going to a mighty ducks game at the gardens. I might have went to a wrestling event there too, but I can’t remember

[@zz377zz]

You have to love that about Cincinnati, history means nothing to them if it stands in the way of money.

[@madmattdrummer5487]

True, compared to lots of cities

[@jsivco3sivco785]

Nearly ALL get demolished eventually. Even Yankee Stadium is gone. ...and the Boston Garden.

[@pablovagnor9588]

Thank you. This was amazing !!

[@roberteytchison556]

I remember seeing my first Winter Jam there featuring Toby Mac, the many Cyclone games, America Concert, circuses, and special events.

[@Rvdecwthug]

The Dayton, Ohio version of the Cincinnati Gardens which is Hara Arena is likely to be demolished at some point. Come to my KZbin page and search Hara Arena to find it

[@gregwagner2163]

I played basketball here at the halftime of a Royals game, great memory.

[@rlightning90]

Played hockey here once. It was amazing!

[@jeffemerson6122]

BORN N RAISED IN ELMWOOD PLACE IN 1964 N USED TOO WALK THERE FOR CONCERTS N CAN'T COUNT HOW MANY I'VE BEEN THERE TOO BUT IT'S A LOT!

[@kosmokritikos9299]

Did anyone mention the Circuses? Shrine, Ringling Brothers, Barnum, Bailey. You name it. If it was a circus, it showed up there sooner or later.

[@harley4ever355]

ANOTHER TREASURE GONE FOREVER! FOR SO CALLED "PROGRESS".

[@JustMeB729]

I used to ice skate there 😊

[@teresahardy9962]

Torn down for nothing. Sad. Lots of memories.

[@teresahardy9962]

Saw Mark Lindsay and the Carpenters there. Great concert.

[@mikeklaene4359]

Having grown up in NKY - a trip to the "Gardens" for an event was special. Never paid much attention to the restroom signs for "Ladies" and "Men" - so I guess guys were not expected to behave like gentlemen.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

I went to two circuses there as a little kid in the early 1970s.

[@djeurosham]

RIP to the gardens

[@bigbadredsox]

So sad!

[@johneicher6641]

was there severa times for cyclones games shows and i guess the best and worst went there with wife and couple of her neices to c heart we went there couple weeks after our first daughter died it was nice and sad

[@willoutlaw4971]

James Brown and The Famous Flames rocked the house.

[@currentbatches6205]

Early '60s; used to drive there for the skating rink. Winton Woods after the lakes froze. Good times, but got my wallet lifted once; found empty in a can out front by security. Never again; put it in your FRONT pocket.

[@MichaelStVitus]

Alice Cooper in the 1970s. “School’s out for the summer”. Floor seats 3 rows back. They had covered the ice (hockey ice) with homasote and the seats were metal folding chairs that were bolted together in rows but not to the floor. (ICE). The audience pulled up the homasote in large chunks and turned over the rows of metal folding chairs. Good times. (Homasote is a thick insulation material made of recycled newspaper).

[@kristinawashington1773]

lovely video. :)

[@Rvdecwthug]

The Dayton, Ohio version of the Cincinnati Gardens which is Hara Arena is likely to be demolished at some point. Come to my KZbin page and search Hara Arena to find it

[@victorcaldwell2900]

Saw Madonna there in 83'. Was a cool place. Neighborhood went to 💩 though...

[@jamesschott2870]

So sad---what a waste ---hope the sandstone murals were rescued for the future---we are good at demolishing history!!!

[@bumrush9422]

My uncle took me to see the Royals there in '60.

[@toxicjxy6368]

What was it like

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Too bad. RIP.

[@sidd5938]

Wow.

[@521981969]

He didnt mention Elvis played there

[@cee128d]

Were they able to remove the sandstone reliefs and preserve them at another location? And if so, do you know where?

[@sidd5938]

following...

[@tahamaki36]

One of the basketball players is at XU's Cintas Center and the Boxer is at the Golden Gloves Academy. The ceramic letters on the front went to the Cincinnati Sign Museum and now graces the outside of the building. cincyshirts.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-the-cincinnati-gardens?_pos=6&_sid=07d8a687b&_ss=r

[@SandyWolf-]

I hope they saved those sandstone murals

[@MlleMDM]

C nul de l’avoir détruit !!

[@roymarksberry4152]

Now there's nothing there

[@bumrush9422]

Who does the music starting at 14:30 mark?

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

The name of the song is "Believer" by Silent Partner. I believe it's KZbin royalty free music.

[@CBelmont73]

There were a few times WWF was there, not sure if WCW was there too.

[@jwcmwaa]

I've seen TNA Wrestling there a few times.

[@donnorman3719]

Good Times!

[@624handcrafted]

Man....

[@bcats1309]

I used to go ice skating there. I saw a concert Jackie Wilson there. Ice Capades there. The neighborhood turned bad so it no longer was a neighborhood people wanted to go to. 1960 Nixon held a Rally there which I attended. My family voted for Kennedy 1960. I wasnt old enough to vote. I would have voted for Kennedy too. Before the Skating center was built we skated in the main big arena. I used to pretend I was skating in the Ice Capades! Those were the days!

[@TheRandompaint]

Now it's an empty grass area because a company decided to build a Warehouse aross from it

[@prevaloir5362]

It's quite frankly the reason I plan to leave the US. Nothing is sacred here, nothing of community value remains like in other countries. Soon they'll have to remove names of cities and towns because they all will look the same so there's no point in telling the difference

[@jbkahl]

What a waste. The Robinsons should be ashamed, tearing down an iconic building like that all for the mighty dollar and to put up section 3 housing projects Pitiful!!!! And as of 3.2023 the property is still vacant 😡😡😡😡😡

[@doug3959]

A shame.

[@jamesschott2870]

And PRESTO-----gone forever!!!!

[@rintin_ten88]

dumb move

[@dogcowrph]

The Royals have been a dynasty since moving to Sacramento.

[@MidKid61]

They moved to Kansas City in 1972, then Sacramento in 1984.

[@charleswashington5888]

The Cincinnati Royals went to a few playoff appearances including The 1967 Eastern Conference Semi-final against The Philadelphia 76ers who went on to win their first NBA World Championship. In the same year, The Cincinnati Gardens hosted The 1967 NBA All-Star Game.

[@brianmoore493]

They always get the prettiest girls to do these interviews. Im available for an interview! Hello!

[@historyinyourownbackyard2363]

We have guys that do the interviews also. LOL!