The Sault Memorial Gardens was a former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

arena in

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

, for 57 years from 1949 to 2006. It was located in the heart of the downtown district at 169 Queen Street. The Gardens was one of the first

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

arenas to have artificial ice, and seated 3,990 spectators. The arena was built as a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

, and hosted several teams over the years, but was primarily home to the

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

. The Memorial Gardens was ultimately replaced by the Steelback Centre (now known as

GFL Memorial Gardens The GFL Memorial Gardens, formerly the "Essar Centre", is a 4,928 seat sports and entertainment centre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It opened on September 29, 2006, replacing the now demolished Sault M ...

), built directly adjacent to where the Gardens once stood.

Beginning of an era

On January 7, 1946, the City of Sault Ste. Marie voted to construct a new recreational facility with an arena. It was approved by city residents via questionnaire to replace the then existing Gouin Street Arena. Plans originally intended the facility to be multi-purpose, including an indoor pool, auditorium, and large outdoor fountains. Cost estimates at the outlook of the project were in the range of $400,000

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

. The official

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

ceremony took place on September 18, 1946. Work on the massive structure would take two and a half years to complete. Once completed, total costs were approximately $765,000 CAD. The Memorial Gardens officially opened February 20, 1949, with a crowd of 8,500 to mark the official dedication.

About the Gardens

The design of the Gardens' front facade was representative of

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

architecture style, using straight lines and curved forms. The main entrance and lobby were on the first floor at street level, and the Greyhounds team offices were on the second floor above. Inside the front doors, the lobby featured cast iron gates through which spectators filed to have their tickets taken. Inside these gates were concessions and entrances to the seating areas. The seating area had main concourse around the top of arena, and an aisle around the boards at ice level for movement of spectators. The benches for hockey teams, and

penalty box The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not ...

es were located in these aisles. The seats were all wooden benches, painted light blue. The Gardens had more rows of seats at the ends of the arena, than along the sides. The concourse and seats along the sides, sloped downwards from the end sections, towards the middle sections. As a result of this there were four full sections in the Gardens in which every single seat was tilted on a diagonal angle. The upper concourse area was very narrow, along the sides, and it was also the standing room area.

Memorial Tower

The Gardens' most distinctive feature was the Memorial Tower and red-lighted beacon. The beacon was lit on nights the Greyhounds played home games. The tower was also in commemoration of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. At the base of the tower, inside the building, stands a list among wreaths, bearing the names of those of Sault Ste. Marie's bravest who did not return. The tower is all that remains from the demolished structure of the Gardens.

Other features

Inside the Gardens, high above the ice at the south end was a memorial fresco featuring

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

panels and a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, commemorating the war dead. The exterior of the south end of the arena had a large Greyhounds logo and a list of all the years that Sault teams had won league championships and the Memorial Cup. Underneath the stands on the east side, in the corridor beside the Greyhounds dressing room, was the "Greyhounds alumni wall". Every Greyhounds alumnus had his name painted on the wall under the year in which he graduated from the team. The exact wording at the beginning of the list read:

Structural changes

Since its inauguration in 1949, the building has seen some dramatic changes. * Interior lighting above the ice (1950) *

Acrylic glass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...

around the ice replacing

chain link fencing A chain-link fence (also referred to as wire netting, wire-mesh fence, chain-wire fence, cyclone fence, hurricane fence, or diamond-mesh fence) is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or linear low-density polyethylene-coated st ...

(1952) *

Metal roof A metal roof is a roofing system made from metal pieces or tiles characterized by its high resistance, impermeability and longevity. It is a component of the building envelope. Zinc, copper and steel alloys are commonly used. History Copper has pla ...

ing replacing

roof shingle Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat, rectangular shapes laid in courses from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive course overlapping the joints below. ...

s (1978) *

Electrical wiring Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and installation. Allowable ...

brought up to code (1980s) * Heating & Ventilation system upgrades (1980s) * Changeroom renovations (1980s) *

Fire alarm system A fire alarm system warns people when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other fire-related or general notification emergency, emergencies are detected. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also ...

and

Public Address A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

system upgrades (1990) *

Luxury boxes The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...

and media gondolas added (1993) * Exterior refinishing &

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

ing (1997)

End of an era

The last Greyhounds game was played on March 28, 2006, a playoff game versus the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

David Bolland David D. Bolland (born June 5, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Bolland was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. While playing junior hockey in the Ontario H ...

of the

scored the last goal, in game four of the first round playoff series. The building was officially decommissioned and closed to the public on April 9, 2006 in much the same fashion that it was ceremonially opened.

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

members and other dignitaries were on hand to bid farewell to an important piece of Northern Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie's heritage. Demolition of the building's interior began on April 27, 2006, with final exterior demolition beginning May 27, 2006. At the time of demolition, the Sault Memorial Gardens was the second oldest operational arena in the Ontario Hockey League. Only the

Windsor Arena Windsor Arena (nicknamed The Barn, because of its age, wooden construction, and its appearance of a giant barn) is an indoor arena located in Windsor, Ontario. Its capacity is approximately 4,400 with standing room. The arena's ice is an asymme ...

was older. All that remains of the former building is the preserved Memorial Tower, and its beacon. The decision not to demolish the tower, shows its importance to local history, and to remember war

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

. The city block that contains the site of the tower, and the arena facility, is now known as ''Memorial Square''.

Events

The Memorial Gardens played host to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

tournament in 1978 and 1993, as well as the 1979 OHL All-Star Game. The last big tournament played in the Gardens was the 2003 Air Canada Cup, Canada's national midget hockey championship. Aside from hockey, the 1990 Labatt Brier, the Canadian men's

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

championship, and the 1996 Canadian National

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

Championship were hosted in the Gardens. Artists that have performed at Memorial Gardens include,

Stompin' Tom Connors Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited with writing more than 300 songs and has rele ...

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

, Rush,

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...

Rita MacNeil Rita MacNeil (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray t ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, ...

, Great White, and

Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...

, among others. https://www.setlist.fm/search?page=2&query=Sault+Ste+Marie&venue=13d64599 Other larger performances include

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Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...

on Ice, and the PharmAssist Skate the Nation Tour.

Photo gallery

File:Sault_Memorial_Gardens_1.jpg, Front entrance. File:Memorial Tower Sault Memorial Gardens.jpg, Memorial Tower. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 26.jpg, Memorial Tower interior, north wall. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 27.jpg, Memorial Tower interior, south wall. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 2.jpg, South entrance. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 3.jpg, Exterior from the southwest. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 4.jpg, Championships at south entrance. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 19.jpg, South end stairs. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 6.jpg, Interior from the northwest. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 8.jpg, Interior from the north. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 10.jpg, Interior from the northeast. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 22.jpg, Interior from the southwest. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 13.jpg, South end of gardens. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 14.jpg, Memorial fresco, with angels and lighted glass windows. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 5.jpg, Model ship in trophy case. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 7.jpg, Retired numbers in the rafters. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 9.jpg, West side press boxes. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 23.jpg, West side seating. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 24.jpg, West side hallway with "dip" in floor. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 11.jpg, East side seating. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 12.jpg, Centre ice logo. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 15.jpg, Greyhounds bench and penalty boxes. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 16.jpg, Greyhounds wall of honour. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 17.jpg,

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

's name on the wall. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 18.jpg,

Craig Hartsburg Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ( ...

's name plate. File:Sault Memorial Gardens wall.jpg,

Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the ...

's name on the wall. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 20.jpg, Greyhounds players' lounge / exercise room. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 21.jpg, Team motto on wall of lounge. File:Sault Memorial Gardens 25.jpg, Visitor's dressing room.

External links

Memorial Gardens history
{{coord, 46, 30, 49, N, 84, 20, 13, W, type:landmark, display=title Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Ontario Hockey League arenas Sports venues in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Streamline Moderne architecture in Canada Demolished buildings and structures in Ontario Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Sports venues demolished in 2006