Island Garden

The Island Garden Arena was a 5,200-seat arena in West Hempstead, New York. It was built in 1957 by Arnold "Whitey" Carlson,[1] a descendant of Swedish immigrants. Carlson's grandfather was Henrik Carlson, a noted San Diego sculptor who was the Foreign Art Director for the San Diego Exposition (now Balboa Park).

Island Garden under construction in 1956

Over the years, concert acts such as Cream, the Dave Clark Five, Louis Armstrong, The Byrds, The Jeff Beck Group, The Rascals, Sly and the Family Stone, Duke Ellington, Joan Baez, Procol Harum, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan performed at the venue.[2][3] The Island Garden Arena also hosted boxing matches, professional wrestling,[4] circuses, rodeos, stamp shows,[5] midget car racing, and boat shows.[6][1]

The arena hosted the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association from 1969 to 1972. The Nets were unable to play any home playoff games in 1971 because the arena was booked with other events;[7] they played one home playoff game at Hofstra University, and two at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. In 1971–72, the Nets posted their first winning season, advancing all the way to the 1972 ABA Finals, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers. Late in the season, the team moved from the Island Garden into the new Nassau Coliseum. In 1976, the Nets were admitted into the National Basketball Association, moved to New Jersey,[8] and eventually becoming today's Brooklyn Nets.[9][10]

The arena was partially demolished in 1973, unable to compete with Nassau Coliseum. A shopping center was built on that portion of the site. The remaining portion of the structure was rebuilt into a youth basketball venue in 1998. It has three courts for simultaneous gameplay or practice.[1] Today, the location of Island Garden is 45 Cherry Valley Avenue, West Hempstead.[11]