Irving Mitchell Felt (25 January 1909 – 22 September 1994) was a New York businessman who led the drive in the 1960s to build a new

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

.New York Times: "Irving M. Felt, 84, Sports Impresario, Is Dead" By AGIS SALPUKAS
September 24, 1994

Biography

Felt was born Isadore Maurice Felt to Abraham and Dora (Mandel) Felt, into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Manhattan growing up around West 140th Street. His father was a lawyer. At the age of 19, he graduated from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

with a degree in Finance and then took a job with the Wall Street concern, Hayden Stone. At the age of 28, he left the firm and helped to reorganize the investment firm

Graham-Paige Graham-Paige was an American automobile manufacturer founded by brothers Joseph B. Graham (1882–1970), Robert C. Graham (1885–1967), and Ray A. Graham (1887–1932) in 1927. Automobile production ceased in 1940, and its automotive asse ...

. In 1959, with Felt as its president, Graham-Page purchased a controlling interest in the old

(built 1925). Wanting to replace the old Garden with a new and modern facility that was more flexible, could handle larger crowds, and provided unobstructed views, in November 1960, he quietly purchased from the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

the air rights to build a new Garden over

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Train ...

.Massachusetts Institute of Technology: "The Fall and Rise of Pennsylvania Station -Changing Attitudes Toward Historic Preservation in New York City" by Eric J. Plosky
1999 In July 1961, Felt announced that he would demolish

McKim, Mead, and White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

's Pennsylvania Station at West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue and build a new Madison Square Garden at the site. Prior to the hearing for the demolition, his brother, James Felt, the current chair of the New York City City Planning Commission, resigned. He formed a new company, Madison Square Garden, Inc. which was 75% owned by Graham-Page and 25% owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. From 1960 to 1968, Felt oversaw the project from demolition to completion. The project was fully privately financed. Despite the controversy generated over the demolition, Felt stated that he "believed that the gain from the new buildings and sports center would more than offset any aesthetic loss" and that "Fifty years from now, when its time for he new Madison Square Gardento be torn down, there will be a new group of architects who will protest." As of 2023 the building is still standing 55 years after it opened and is the oldest arena in the NHL and NBA. Thereafter, he served as president of the Madison Square Garden Corporation when it purchased the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

hockey club, the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

basketball club,

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup auto race, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual ci ...

on Long Island, and the ice show production company, Holiday on Ice Productions. He is known for bringing the "

Fight of the Century Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Fight of the Century or simply The Fight, was an undisputed heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and '' The Ring'' heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and Lineal champion Muhammad ...

" between

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

and

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

to Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971. The theater within the new Garden was named Felt Forum in his honor; it is now known as

The Theater at Madison Square Garden The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600 people and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is situated beneath the main ...

Philanthropy and political activities

He served as a president and chairman of the

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣ Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annuall ...

and as the head of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.Los Angeles Times: "Irving M. Felt; Developer and Philanthropist"
September 26, 1994 He also served on the board of directors of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Association for two decades, he was a founding patron of the

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, and served as a national trustee of the

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual ...

. He was a major fund-raiser for the Senator

Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representa ...

of New York and served as campaign chairman in 1990 for Republican congressional candidate

Jim Salomon Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yelkanum Seclamatan (died April 1911), Nat ...

in his race against San Fernando Valley Representative

Anthony Beilenson Anthony Charles Beilenson (October 26, 1932 – March 5, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic Congressman from Southern California. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 unt ...

Personal life

Felt was married twice. In 1945, he married Elaine Edelman who was also Jewish; they had two children, Constance Harriet Felt and Jonathan Seth Felt (1949–2018).New York Times: "ELAINE EDELMAN FELT, 72, DIES; LONGTIME SUPPORTER OF BALLET"
July 25, 1985FELT v. FELT , 93 A.D.2d 396 (1983) ''Elaine Felt, Respondent, v. Irving M. Felt, Appellant'' -Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department
May 3, 1983ESTATE OF FELT v. COMMISSIONER Docket Nos. 6961-78, 7079-78. 54 T.C.M. 528 (1987) - T.C. Memo. 1987-465 ''Estate of Elaine E. Felt, Deceased, Constance H. Felt, Jonathan S. Felt and Albert I. Edelman, Executors v. Commissioner. Irving M. Felt, Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent'' United States Tax Court
filed September 16, 1987 They divorced and in 1973, he married Serene Leavenworth (née Bihari), sister to the

Bihari brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origin. They founded Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. They were significant figures in th ...

.New York Times: "Joe Bihari, Who Put Early R&B on Record, Dies at 88" By WILLIAM YARDLEY
December 11, 2013 He has a stepson with Bihari, Randolph Julian Leavenworth III.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felt, Irving Mitchell 1909 births 1994 deaths American businesspeople in real estate 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews Madison Square Garden executives