• by David Goetzl , March 9, 2010

Well after the Washington Mutual brand disappeared, it still curiously adorned a marquee at New York's Madison Square Garden. Now, WaMu has left the building.

JP Morgan Chase cut short a deal that established the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2007. The longtime venue for the NBA Draft and legendary boxing matches is adjacent to the 20,000-seat Garden.

Chase took control of WaMu's failing operations in 2008, and in the process had rights to drop sponsorship contracts, a company spokesman said. Chase could have taken over the naming rights for its bank brand, but chose not to.

The WaMu signage was pulled off the 7th Avenue Garden façade "a few months ago," but a spokesman for MSG did not provide further details.

And this appears to be several months after the WaMu brand was completely scrapped nationwide, as the integration into the Chase bank business was done.

Furthermore, the WaMu moniker was removed entirely from New York-area branches back in June of last year. At one point, there were about 325 in the market.

WaMu struck the naming-rights deal for the 5,600-seat MSG Theater as part of its efforts to raise its profile in the New York market. The multi-year arrangement also included placement of 11 ATMs inside. Terms were not disclosed.

MSG operates a number of theaters, including Radio City Music Hall and the Chicago Theater, but the WaMu deal marked the first time it placed a corporate name on one.

The MSG Theater is decades old and once carried the Felt Forum moniker.

A second WaMu Theater in Seattle still carries the former bank's name.