Madison Square Garden had a different name when it first opened.
If Madison Square Garden is not near Madison Square nor is it a garden; how did it get that name?
The name "garden" came about with the first building – a converted
railroad terminal at East 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum bought the abandoned terminal – across from Madison Square Park – as a venue for his circus. It didn't last long because of poor ventilation for his animals.
Barnum sold it to a fellow named Gilmore whose specialty was flower shows. With that in mind, he changed the building's name to "Gilmore's Garden."
Eventually Gilmore folded his flower shows and sold Gilmore's Garden to the Vanderbilt Family, one of the richest in the city,
Since the Vanderbilt's didn't need their name on anything and since the edifice was across from Madison Square Park, they simply christened it "Madison Square Garden."
The name remained when a new, towering MSG building went up at the same site and lasted until 1925.
A third MSG moved uptown and opened in 1925 on Eighth Avenue between West 49th and 50th Streets. Through it all the Madison Square Garden label remained despite the fact that it was more than a mile from Madison Square Park and still isn't a garden!
MSG 3 remained in business until 1968 when the current Garden opened for business.