Barton Street Arena, also known as the Hamilton Forum, was the main sports

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 spectator ...

located in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, on Barton Street between Sanford Street and Wentworth Street. It was built in 1910 at what was at that time the east end of the city by Andrew Ross (original owner) who was a local Hamilton businessman. Originally, the arena had a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of 4,500 and standing room for roughly 500 people. By 1977 it had a

of 2800 people. It was torn down in 1977 when the ice-making equipment broke down and the city decided it would be cheaper to demolish the arena than replace the old machinery. A new and much larger arena,

Copps Coliseum FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000. History Hamilton was lef ...

, was constructed six years later. Today, the Barton Street Arena site is occupied by residential housing. There were six entrances—three on Barton, and three on Bristol Street. The north side of the arena (the Barton Street side) housed the coat-check and the ladies' washroom. The five dressing rooms were located on the Bristol Street side, as well as a "smoking room". The press box was also on the south side, above the stands. The building was

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...

heated so patrons could watch the game in comfort. The ice surface itself, at 200-feet by 80-feet, was lit by twenty-eight five-hundred-candle-power lights. After the first

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

game was played in the arena between Hamilton and the

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 ...

; Montreal owner

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

commented: ''"This is a fine arena. It's a lot better than I looked for. The lighting is excellent, the seating fine, and the ice surface the largest in the NHL. I am surely surprised."'' It was home arena to the NHL's

Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton intere ...

, the minor pro

, and the OHL's

Hamilton Tiger Cubs The Hamilton Tiger Cubs were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1953 to 1960. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario. History The Hamilton juniors which they were called initially in the early part of 19 ...

Hamilton Red Wings The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario, at the Barton Street Arena, also known as the Hamilton Forum. History The Hamilton Tiger Cubs wer ...

and

Hamilton Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

. The arena hosted the first game of the 1962

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 ...

. The Hamilton Red Wings won that game 5–2 versus the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

References

The OHL Arena & Travel Guide - Hamilton Forum
* Hamilton's Hockey Tigers, Sam Wesley w/ David Wesley (James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2005) * 20th Century Hockey Chronicle, Stan Fischler, Shirley Fischler, Morgan Hughes, Joseph Romain, James Duplacey (Publications International Ltd., 1999) * Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, Vol III.(1925–39), Thomas Bailey Melville (W.L. Griffin Ltd., 1981) * Hamilton Herald Newspaper articles, (1920–1925) Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Sports venues in Hamilton, Ontario Ontario Hockey League arenas Defunct National Hockey League venues Defunct indoor arenas in Canada 1910 establishments in Ontario 1977 disestablishments in Ontario Sports venues completed in 1910 Sports venues demolished in 1977 {{canada-icehockey-venue-stub