Washington Coliseum, 1941-1985

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Completed in 1941 and operated as an arena until the mid-1980s, Washington Coliseum (known at its opening as Uline Coliseum) was home to historic events such as President Eisenhower's 1953 inaugural ball and influential speeches by Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. The building is best known for hosting the first American concert of the Beatles on Tuesday, February 11, 1964. On Sunday evening, the Beatles had performed on the Ed Sullivan show, their first US performance. The Beatles arrived by train and were met by mobs of fans. The Beatles performed at 8:31 PM, playing 12 sounds last around 30 minutes in total. Oral accounts recount that the sound system was underpowered, and the screaming and yelling of Beatles fans often overpowered the Beatles' music. The building continued to host concerts and sporting events for the next twenty years and was even utilized as a makeshift detention center for Vietnam War Protesters during the May Day Protests of 1971. The building fell into disrepair but was saved from demolition by historic preservationists and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it has been repurposed with tenants such as REI and coworking office spaces.

Images

Washington Coliseum in 2006

In concert on February 11, 1964

Event, Music, Entertainment, Performing arts

Beatles, John, Paul, George, and Ringo posing in front of the Capitol building

People outside the Washington Coliseum waiting to enter

Marker recognizing the Beatles' performance in DC

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Beatles were formed in 1957 with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. George Harrison, the lead guitarist, was added to the band in late 1957, and drummer Ringo Starr replaced original drummer Pete Best in 1961. With the direction of producer George Martin, the Beatles scored a UK hit with their single Please Please Me. Through 1963, the Beatles national UK fame grew becoming a sensation, prompting British news media to coin the term Beatlemania for the frenzy the Beatles caused.

When coming to the US in 1964, the Beatles were treated with similar frenzies, with massive crowds of mostly teenage girls following the Beatles wherever they went. On February 9, the Beatles made their US debut performing on the Ed Sullivan show drawing 73 million viewers. The Beatles were scheduled to get to DC National Airport to perform on the 11th, however, due to a snowstorm, the Beatles instead took a train. Arriving at Union Station at 3:09 pm on the 11th, police officers had to force back mobs swarming to see the Beatles. Reportedly, one girl told a police officer "You can't throw her out, she's the President of the Beatles Fan Club" as they got pushed back. The Beatles were escorted to the Shoreham Hotel, where they had booked out the entire 7th floor for privacy.

That evening, the Beatles performed at the Washington Coliseum. The building was constructed in 1941 by the owner of the Washington hockey team, the Lions as a stadium for the team named Uline Ice Arena. In 1959, it was purchased by a jeweler and named the Washington Coliseum. The owner of the Coliseum apparently knew little about the Beatles and doubted they could sell a full house and insisted on having opening acts.

The Caravelles, Tommy Roe, and the Chiffons opened the night, and all 8000 seats in the stadium were filled. It was the largest audience the Beatles had played for to date, the previous record being 2000. Through the night, the audience was often so loud, one police officer put .38 caliber bullets in his ears as ears plugs. And through the night, the Beatles only had two mics and three Vox amplifiers. In addition, throughout the performance, the Beatles had to rotate the direction they were facing as the arena had seats on all four sides. This caused significant problems for Ringo as his drums were mounted on a riser. As they performed, the Beatles were often pelted with jelly beans as audiences had learned they like jelly beans. Harrison, the lead guitarist recalled "It was terrible. They hurt. They don't have soft jelly babies in America, but hard jellybeans like bullets."

The Beatles played 12 songs:

Roll Over Beethoven
From Me to You
I Saw Her Standing There
This Boy
All My Loving
I Wanna Be Your Man
Please Please Me
Till There Was You
She Loves You
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Twist and Shout
Long Tall Sally

Sources

James E. Miller, "The Beatles," Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, last modified November 13, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Beatles.

Washington Coliseum, Atlas Obscura. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/washington-coliseum-1

Kiger, Patrick. Beatlemania Begins in DC, Boundary Stones. February 10th 2014. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://boundarystones.weta.org/2014/02/10/beatlemania-begins-dc

Kiger, Patrick. The Beatles Storm Washington, Boundary Stones. February 11th 2014. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://boundarystones.weta.org/2014/02/11/beatles-storm-washington

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Atlas Obscura

Ghosts of DC