Uline Arena (Washington Coliseum) (Washington, D.C.)

USA / District of Columbia / Washington / Washington, D.C. / 3rd Street Northeast, 1132
 coliseum, arena, basketball court, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, interesting place, 1941_construction
The Uline Ice Arena (known at times as the Washington Coliseum) was built in 1941 by Miguel Uline as a home for the Washington Lions, a member of the Eastern Hockey League. It served as a host to many events of the time due to its immense size, but was segregated for all events except boxing matches for the first seven years of its existence.

It also hosted Paul Robeson after he was disallowed to preform at Constitution Hall in 1941, served as a home for the Washington Capitols NBA team from 1946-1952, and was packed for a speech by Elijah Muhammad - the founder of Nation of Islam - in 1959. Perhaps its most famous moment came on February 11, 1964, as the Beatles gave their first concert in North America at the Washington Coliseum before a crowd of 8,600.

Concerts were banned, however, following a riot during a performance by the Temptations in 1967, and were replaced by the ABA (American Basketball Association) Washington Capitols for the 1969-70 season. In the 70s and 1980s it became one of the hot spots for go-go, but, following a failed redevelopment by Takoma Park's Christian Faith Center in 1986 as a "spiritual center", it was converted in 1994 to a trash transfer station by LG Industries.

www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2004/uline.html
washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2001/04/1...
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Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Coliseum
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Coordinates:   38°54'17"N   77°0'10"W

Comments

  • This is now serving as a parking garage while neighborhood redevelopment awaits a more favorable economy. Venue seats can still be seen up on stands above the parking floor.
This article was last modified 2 years ago