Dey's Arena
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Dey's Arena, also known as Dey Brothers Rink, Dey's Skating Rink and The Arena were a series of ice rinks and arenas located in Ottawa, Ontario, that hold importance in the early development of the organized sport of ice hockey in Canada. It was the home arena of the Ottawa Hockey Club, variously known as the Generals, the Silver Seven and the Senators from the 1890s until 1923, although it is known that games were also played at the Rideau Skating Rink in the 1890s and the Aberdeen Pavilion in 1904. The rink and arenas were built by two generations of the Dey family, who were prominent in Ottawa at the time, with a thriving boat works business serving the lumber business. The Dey family also played hockey.
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[edit] Rink history
[edit] First rink
The first rink was opened in 1884, and was located on the Rideau Canal at Waller Street and Theodore Street (today's Laurier Avenue), next to the Dey Family boat works. The ice rink surface was 150 feet by 60 feet. This location is just south of the location today of the Federal Conference Centre, the old Union Station railway station. This arena was torn down to make way for the Canada Atlantic Railway, which opened a station at Rideau Street and the Canal and rail tracks alongside the eastern bank of the Canal. The boat works moved to Patterson Creek and Bank Street in Ottawa.
[edit] Dey's Skating Rink: Second rink, first arena
The second rink, an arena, opened on December 17, 1896. 'Dey's Skating Rink'[1], its proper name, held an estimated 3,500 spectators. The ice rink measured 200 feet by 81 feet, one of the largest indoor ice surfaces in Canada at the time. The arena featured a bandstand that could be used as a press box, and elevated seats. This was possibly the first arena designed for ice hockey, with the second opening in 1898, being the Montreal Arena. It was located at Bay and Ann (now Gladstone) Streets, the location at the time being on the city outskirts, but served by city streetcars. The arena was the site of the first Stanley Cup win by the Ottawa Hockey Club, in 1903, and the site of numerous Stanley Cup challenge matches during the 'Silver Seven's' reign from 1903–1907, including the challenge of Dawson City.
The arena no longer exists; it was torn down in 1920, and the city block is mostly residences. A plaque was unveiled in 1997 at the corner of Bay and Gladstone. The plaque was stolen on 2008-04-14 and its pedestal destroyed. The prime organizer of the group to mark the location, historian Paul Kitchen, has indicated that it will be rebuilt as soon as possible.[2]
[edit] The Arena: Third rink, second arena
The third rink was built in 1907 and was built because audiences for hockey matches had out-grown the previous arena. The spectator capacity was 7,000, of which 2,500 was standing room. At the time, it was Canada's largest arena. 'The Arena', as it was called,[3] was built on leased land at Laurier Avenue at the Rideau Canal, on the location of today's Confederation Park, near the current Ottawa city hall. This is very close to the location of the first rink, on the opposite bank of the Canal. It was leased from Esther Sherwood for the rate of $166.66 per month, for twenty years.
The Arena opened on January 11, 1908 for a game between Ottawa and the Montreal Wanderers, the top rivalry of the day. The last Senators game at the arena was held on March 10, 1923, after which the team moved to the Ottawa Auditorium. The Ottawa Auditorium was also built by the Deys, who were part owners of the Ottawa Senators. This third rink was torn down by the federal government at the end of the lease in 1927 to make way for the Driveway along the Rideau Canal.
The Arena was used for the sports of ice skating and figure skating as well as hockey. The 1912 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were held in February 1912 at the Arena.[4]
[edit] Stanley Cup history
The various arenas hosted the 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911 Stanley Cup challenges and the 1920 Stanley Cup Finals. The January 1905 challenge is most famous for it is the famous challenge between the Senators and the Dawson City Nuggets, in which Frank McGee scored a still-record 14 times in a 23-2 romp, the highest scoring Stanley Cup game ever. The Dawson City team had travelled for twenty four days to reach Ottawa. The Stanley Cup was famously drop-kicked by Harvey Pulford into the Rideau Canal, after a banquet following the game at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Club which was located nearby at Laurier and Elgin.
[edit] References
- Kitchen, Paul (March 21, 1997), “A monument to our hockey history: Original Senators won their first Stanley Cup at a rink on the corner of Gladstone and Bay”, Ottawa Citizen: pg. B4
- MacGregor, Roy (January 14, 1996), “The long road to the Palladium”, Ottawa Citizen: pg. E3
- Notes
- ^ Might Directories (1909). The Ottawa City Directory 1909. Might Directories Limited, pg. 682.
- ^ {{cite news |newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen |date=[[2008-04-15 |page=B2 |last=Cobb |first=Chris |title=Monument to Ottawa's glory years destroyed; Vandals steal plaque from site of former Dey's Arena}}
- ^ Might Directories (1909). The Ottawa City Directory 1909. Might Directories Limited, pg. 26.
- ^ “Canadian Figure Skating Championships”, Toronto Star: pg.13, 1912-02-13
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by – |
Home of the Ottawa Hockey Club 1883–1887 |
Succeeded by Rideau Skating Rink |
| Preceded by Rideau Skating Rink |
Home of the Ottawa Hockey Club 1896–1903 |
Succeeded by Aberdeen Pavilion |
| Preceded by Aberdeen Pavilion |
Home of the Ottawa Hockey Club 1907–1923 |
Succeeded by Ottawa Auditorium |
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