The Mount Royal Arena was an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the corner of Mount Royal and St. Urbain Street.Mouton(1987), p. 111 It was home of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL)

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

from 1920 to 1926, before moving to the then two-year-old

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the h ...

. It had a capacity of 6,000 seated, 10,000 when including standing room. It was a natural ice rink, without machines to freeze the ice mechanically. It opened, partly unfinished, on January 10, 1920, for a game between the Canadiens and Toronto,Coleman(1966), p. 366 won by Montreal 14–7. A week later, parts of a balcony broke before a game with Ottawa, and police stopped sales at 6,500. The rink had been built quickly to house the Canadiens, who had lost their arena,

Jubilee Arena The Jubilee Arena also known as Jubilee Rink and l'Aréna Jubilee was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was located at the area bounded by rue Alphonse-D. Roy Street (then known as rue Malborough) and rue Ste. Catherine Est ...

, to fire in 1919. The Canadiens eventually moved from the arena because of its uneven natural ice surface. The team wanted a mechanically frozen ice surface but was never able to get one in the rink, as owner Thomas Duggan concentrated on getting American franchises into the NHL, rather than fulfilling his statements that he would install ice-making equipment in the arena. After the Canadiens left, the arena was converted into an auditorium and then into a commercial building. While an auditorium,

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

sang there, and

Norman Bethune Henry Norman Bethune (; March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; zh, t=亨利·諾爾曼·白求恩, p=Hēnglì Nuò'ěrmàn Báiqiú'ēn) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine, and member of the Communist Party ...

, back from Spain in June of 1937, gave an important speech to rally supporters of the

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

. On February 29, 2000, it was destroyed by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

. A

Provigo Provigo is a grocery retailer based in Quebec, Canada, consisting of over 300 stores and franchises throughout the province. It operates a retailing chain of stores and distribution warehouses. It is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited. The chain ...

supermarket now stands on the arena's former site.

References

Sources

* * Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Defunct National Hockey League venues History of Montreal Montreal Canadiens arenas Sports venues in Montreal Burned buildings and structures in Canada Le Plateau-Mont-Royal {{canada-icehockey-venue-stub