Tag Archives: Pittsburgh Penguins

first hockey game in Pittsburgh

66 Years Before the Igloo, the Schenley Park Casino Hosted the First Hockey Game in Pittsburgh

Yesterday, when I was writing about the Catahecassa Springs in Schenley Park I was looking for the date that the Schenley Park ice rink was constructed. While I still don’t know when the Schenley Park ice rink was built, I learned about a building that I had never heard of before, the Schenley Park Casino. Since it is a hockey night in Pittsburgh, it seems fitting that our next post on historic preservation is about the building that hosted the very first hockey game in the City of Pittsburgh.

First home of hockey in Pittsburgh

In 1893 construction began on an elaborate recreation building that was located on the site of what is now the Frick Fine Arts building, just across the bridge from Phipps Conservatory.

The Schenley Park Casino was one of the most elaborate sports and entertainment facilities in the world and it was the first place to have artificial ice, as well as the site of the first hockey game in Pittsburgh. The building opened to the public on May 29, 1895 and was used until it was destroyed by fire on December 17, 1896.

The first artificial ice rink opened in Pittsburgh in 1895. #LetsGoPens

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In researching the history of this building, I learned about the website PittsburghHockey.net which has a detailed page about the Schenlney Park Casino as well as every possible thing you might want to know about hockey in Pittsburgh.

From the PittsburghHockey.net page on the ice rink:

At ice level, which was below ground, the rink was surrounded with three rows of hardwood benches with red velvet cushions. Each end of the rink featured 10 dressing rooms smartly furnished with oil paintings and floor-to-ceiling tapestries. The rooms were owned by politicians and capitalists from the banking, steel, coal and railroad industries and were used for winter carnivals, skating expos and political rallies. In all, the Casino’s management added $140,000 in amenities beyond the original construction cost.

The other fact that really stands out about the Schenley Casino is the size of the place:

Upon entering the building, visitors walked in on a balcony that circled the skating floor 20 feet below. The balcony was 840 feet in length and could accommodate 12,000 people looking down on the skating floor. An article in The Pittsburg Press from December 1885 described a “friendly hockey match” between local hockey clubs in which 10,000 people attended.

For context, PPG Paints area has a capacity of 19,758 and the Igloo could seat 17, 181. To hold a crowd of 12,000, this had to be a large space.

More on the history of Hockey in Pittsburgh

first hockey game in Pittsburgh

Interior of the Casino, the first hockey team in 1895. This is the earliest known image of ice hockey in Pittsburgh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pittsburgh Hockey history timeline on PittsburghHockey.net is quite extensive and provides a nice way to browse the history of hockey in Pittsburgh. The timeline really starts with the Schenley Casino and the first hockey exhibition that was played at the Schenley Park Casino on December 30, 1895. Leading up to the Winter Classic in 2011, the New York Times wrote a long article about the history of hockey in Pittsburgh, “Hockey Has Deep Roots in Pittsburgh“, December 30, 2010.

Here is a 2009 video from FSN that details the history of the Schenley Casino and hockey in Pittsburgh:

A few more links for information on the Schenley Park Casino: 

Pittsburgh Pinners

Looking to add some Pittsburgh to your Pinterest? Here are a few accounts based in the ‘Burg to follow.

  • WQED: America’s first public broadcasting station is no stranger to Pinterest. Noteworthy boards include one dedicated to Mister Rogers and a small business community board that is open for submissions.
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  • Pittsburgh Dad: Almost everyone has seen at least one episode of this popular YouTube series, but if not you can go to Dad’s Pinterest page where he has a board with links to his videos.
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  • boring PITTSBURGH: This account offers a variety of unique Pins, especially on their  “Pittsburgh with an H” board.
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  • Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates: Sports fans rejoice: pins from the “City of Champions” teams aren’t lacking. Follow for promotion information, team apparel, fan photos, and other related pins.
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  • Visit Pittsburgh: This is the “official tourism office” for Pittsburgh, so any information you want about kid activities, festivals, food, weddings, or anything else Pittsburgh is bound to be found on one of their boards.
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    What other Pittsburgh Pinners are you following? Let us know in the comments!

Pens Game Day: Bar Specials Around Town

With all the trouble and conflict of interest in drinking Samuel Adams in this Eastern Conference Finals match-up against the Boston Bruins, I thought it’d be a good idea to provide some possible options of places to watch the Pens game for tonight, Friday night’s game, and future game nights (Pens in 6, of course).

Samuel Adams BanSo here’s a quick list of some good places and where they’re located that have some great specials for game nights:

Primanti Bros– All Suburban Location Primanti Bros offer $1.00 drafts and $1.00 pizza slices for dine-in customers during all Penguin games. Plus there’s also the chance to get some free cheese fries through their twitter promotion, “Twitter Fries.” So if you haven’t already follow Primanti Bros and get your hands on some free fries.

Buckhead Saloon in Station Square is offering private Pens parties to watch the game on one of their four large projectors or multiple flat screen televisions. Reservations guarantee a free Miller Lite pitcher plus $2 20 oz. Miller Lite drafts (4 person minimum). You can register for a reservation here.

The Blind Pig Tavern- 2210 East Carson Street in the South Side is offering 16 oz. Labatt Blue during the games for only $2.50.

Carson City Saloon-1401 East Carson Street also in the South Side offers a rooftop deck along with “the best game time specials in the ‘Burgh.”

Smiling Moose- Another South Side bar offering drink specials for the game (surprised?), the Smiling Moose is starting a $2 Labatt Blue pint special along with special food offers when the puck drops on their 180″ projector screen. Reservations are also available.

James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy  on 422 Foreland St. is also offering a projector screen for live game action along with $2 Labatts.

Red Beard’s Bar and Grill- There are two locations for this place, the original at 201 Shiloh Street (Mt. Washington), and the new location Downtown on Sixth Street. They’re both offering pretty much the same special for the games which is $2 Off any Starter & $2 Miller Lite Bottles. However the Downtown location offers $3 Miller Lite drafts instead of $2 bottles.

Hough’s Taproom and Brewpub at 563 Greenfield Ave. will also offer a $3 20 oz. Labatt Blue offer with wing specials as well.

I’m sure there are tons of other specials that I missed so if you know of any others feel free to comment here or share on our twitter or facebook page. But for now if you’re thirsty (particularly for Miller Lite or Labatt Blue in the South Side)  and looking to head somewhere to watch the Pens game tonight give one of these places a shot. Hopefully there will be plenty of reasons to have a celebratory drink tonight unlike the first two games in this series. Let’s Go Pens!