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Washington Coliseum: Then and Now

WTOP Staff | WTOP_Web_Team@wtop.com

February 10, 2014, 3:11 PM

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Washington Coliseum The Beatles played their first American concert at the Washington Coliseum Feb. 11, 1964.

(Getty Images)
Getty Images
More than 8,000 screaming fans packed into the Washington Coliseum Feb. 11, 1964 to see the Beatles' first American concert.

(Getty Images)
Getty Images
A crowd of Beatles fans wave Union Jacks at the Washington Coliseum during the Beatles first American concert, Feb. 11, 1964.

(Getty Images)
Getty Images
The Washington Coliseum started out as the Uline Arena, which was built in 1941 and hosted professional hockey teams and Ice Capades.

Pictured: Ticket booths

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
In 1948, the Uline Arena desegregated.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
By 1959, when the arena changed its name to the Washington Coliseum, it had already become an important setting for African-American cultural and sporting events.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Both Malcolm X and Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad spoke there in 1959 and 1961.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Riots in 1968 put an end to concerts at the coliseum until go-go acts like Chuck Brown returned to play in the 1980s.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The D.C. Preservation League filed for historic status in 2003, and it was granted in 2006.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The Douglas Development Corporation acquired the property in 2004 and plans to redevelop it into a mixed-use retail and office space.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The project will cost approximately $50 million and should take about 15 months to complete.

(Courtesy Doulgas Development)
Courtesy Doulgas Development
"The neighborhood is just growing, growing and growing," says Douglas Jemal, founder and president of Douglas Development Corporation.

(Courtesy Douglas Development)
Courtesy Douglas Development
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