The Gardens was originally built in 1890 as the Duquesne Traction Company, which served Pittsburgh as a trolley barn, in the city's Oakland neighborhood. In 1895, Christopher Lyman Magee, a Pittsburgh politician, spent nearly $500,000 ($ in ) to purchase and renovate the building. He renamed the structure the Duquesne Gardens in 1896, although it was always called the "Arena" by the locals. The Gardens, which had the world's largest indoor ice rink and a second-floor ballroom, became a premier indoor venue.