The Uline Arena, later renamed the Washington Coliseum, was an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. located at 1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C. It was the site of one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural balls in 1953, the first concert by the Beatles in the United States in 1964, and several other memorable moments in sports, show business, politics and in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It had a capacity of over 8,000 people and was a major event space in Washington until the early 1970s.
The arena was home to the Washington Capitols of the Basketball Association of America (1946–1949) and National Basketball Association (1949–1950), who were once coached by Red Auerbach. Later, the American Basketball Association's Washington Caps played there in 1969–1970.
Once abandoned and used as a parking garage, it was renovated and now houses offices and REI's D.C. flagship store.
It is directly adjacent to the railroad tracks heading into Union Station and bounded by L and M Street NE. It is located across from the Metrorail NoMa–Gallaudet U station southern entrance.
History
Starting in 1938, the idea of building an arena in the area was under consideration. Michael (or Migiel or Miguel) J. Uline, president of Capitol Garden Corp., was considering it June of that year but was waiting on a decision by the local government on whether or not they were going to build an arena of their own at the intersection of 4th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. Michael Uline held 68 patents and was a successful businessman originally from the Netherlands. His parents decided to leave their home in the province of North Brabant due to numerous floodings in the area of the Maas river and the Uline family emigrated to the United States in 1890, when Michiel was 16 years old.NBA nederlanders-nba.nl His first business interests in the US revolved around the production and distribution of ice, and the site in Washington, in 1931, just south of the later Arena, was dedicated to ice manufacturing, storage, and sales.Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service. Uline Ice Plant. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc1000/dc1066/data/dc1066data.pdf
By early 1940, the arena was under construction. It was however already being criticized. On March 14, 1940, coach Bill Reinhart of the George Washington basketball team was critical of the design: there were too many seats behind the backboards and not enough on the sidelines. On March 20, the architect, Joe Harry Lapish, responded to the criticism by stating that the arena would be able to house between 6,500 and 7,000 basketball spectators including 4,500 to 5,000 highly desirable seats on the sidelines.
On December 28, 1940, while the arena was nearing completion, Michael Uline announced that it would open on January 28, 1941, and would present a 15-performance engagement of "Ice-Capades of 1941" in 13 days which would end on February 9. More details of the interior where also shared. The heated arena would feature arm-rest seats, each with a complete and unhindered view of the ice by post supports and beams. The ice surface would be by and be the biggest in the country. It would be frozen using the Vedder system connected to the plant located next door which would provide the brine by-pass. Raoul Le Mat was General Manager. The following day, further details of the 1941 program was announced. A rodeo was planned and other activities were in the works: roller follies, a defense exposition, possibly a Cherry Blossom Festival, professional, collegiate and amateur hockey, boxing and college basketball were also considered. On January 9, 1941, the owner announced that the arena had been awarded the Indoor Speed Skating Championship by the National Amateur Ice Skating Union to take place on February 22 and 23, 1941. All the speed skating stars from the country would be present for the event including Leo Freisinger. It was also announced that Eddie Bean, a well-known local golfer, would become the new Ticket Sale Director for the Uline Arena. He had previously handled the ticket sales of the Washington Baseball Club and of the Redskins for a decade.
On January 22, it was announced that the third boxing performance between Joey Archibald and Harry Jeffra would take place on February 18, 1941. The following day, it was announced by the Evening Star that Mr. Uline had purchased an American Hockey League team to be known as the 'Washington Ulines'. It was to be in fact the Washington Lions. It would become a step up over the other Washington hockey team, the Washington Eagles in the Eastern Hockey League. Mr. Uline had considered getting a National Hockey League team but due to the maintenance cost had decided to go with the American Hockey League instead.
Finally, the Uline rink opened on January 28, 1941, with the Ice-Capades. The show took place in front of 3,000 people. The space in what was described as a "concrete cavern" was well received by the public. However, it seems that the ice was faulty that was to be remediated by the following night: the "blades cut the brittle surface like snowball scrapers and precipitated several unscheduled spills".
On February 10, 1941, Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revue went on the ice in the Uline Arena.
The first Hockey game to take place in the arena was between Georgetown University Hoyas and Temple University Owls on February 15, 1941. The first boxing match was on March 6, 1941, between Billy Conn and Daniel Hassett in preparation for the match between Billy Conn and Joe Louis.
Soon after it opened, the Uline Arena offered public skating every day: weekdays and Sundays from 2 pm to 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm to 11 pm. It also offered Saturday morning sessions from 10:00am to 12:30 pm. Admission was 35 cents for adults in the afternoon and 55 cents in the evening. Children's admission was 25 cents in the afternoon and 35 cents in the evening.
On November 3, 1941, just a few weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war on December 7, 1941, the Pageant of American Freedom took place at the Uline Arena. It was a variety show by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur with a 200 chorus of 90 voices and an Orchestra. All proceeds went to the D.C. Defense Council and the ad featured Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy waving a flag, playing the drums and the flute. It appears that a version of the song It's Fun to Be Free was sung in this performance.
On January 30, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt celebrated his 60th birthday. It was a nationwide celebration. In the city, a banquet, six dances and special midnight shows at three theaters took place. Dances took place at the Hamilton, Mayflower, Shoreham and Wardman Park Hotels as well as the Uline Arena and the Lincoln Colonnade from 9 pm to 1 am. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was present at the Arena to cut a 650-pound birthday cake. Johnny Long's Orchestra played and Lucy Monroe sang "The Star-Spangled Banner". Several Hollywood Stars were also present including Rosalind Russell, Carol Bruce, Dorothy Lamour, Dinah Shore, Gene Raymond, and Pat O'Brien.
Basketball and hockey After World War II ended in 1945, the arena continued to be used as an ice hockey and basketball venue. The Washington Capitols began play as a charter member of the Basketball Association of America in 1946 and became a charter member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949; during its five seasons of play, the team used Uline Arena as its home court. Earl Lloyd, the first African American athlete to play for an NBA team, played for the Capitols at Uline Arena on October 31, 1950. The team folded during the 1950–1951 season.
During the 1946–1947, 1949–1950, and 1950–1951 seasons, the Georgetown University Hoyas men's basketball team played home games at Uline Arena. From 1941 to 1960, the George Washington University Colonials men's basketball team played their home games in the arena as well.
In 1969, the American Basketball Association's defending championship team, the Oakland Oaks, moved to Washington and played as the Washington Caps during the 1969–1970 season. The Oaks, owned by entertainer Pat Boone, had captured the ABA Championship in the 1968–69 season, and Boone sold the team to Earl Foreman due to poor attendance in Oakland. Foreman relocated the franchise to Washington. Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Larry Brown played for the Caps, with Brown leading the league in assists and Barry averaging 27 points per game. The team finished 44–40 and was eliminated by the Denver Rockets in the playoffs. Plagued by poor attendance, the franchise relocated again and became the Virginia Squires following their one season in the Washington.
The Washington Lions of the American Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League (1941–1942 and 1944–1949) and the Washington Presidents of the Eastern Hockey League (1957–1960) played at Washington Coliseum.
The arena remained segregated after its opening until January 1948.
Inauguration ball, new owner and civil rights On December 10, 1952, Miguel J. Uline, who was 78 years old, divorced his first wife whom he had married in 1895. This divorce procedure was complicated because Uline had received an invalid Mexican divorce in 1950 and married a former beauty shop operator, Mrs Elva Houseman, the same day. Mr. Uline and his first wife, Mrs. Carolyn Eierman Uline, had not lived together since 1930. It appears that she had reached out to her husband once a year around Christmas in an effort to get back together but that in recent years, she had simply stopped as he "was living with another woman". They had two children together.
On January 20, 1953, one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower′s two inaugural balls was held at Uline Arena. Mamie Eisenhower wore a pink peau de soie gown embroidered with more than 2,000 rhinestones designed by Nettie Rosenstein. She also wore gloves matching the gown and rhinestone-and-perl earrings, necklace and bracelet by Trifaro. Her purse was beaded by Judith Leiber (an employee of Nettie Rosenstein at the time). Her shoes were made by Delman with her name printed on the left instep. The gown, shoes and purse were later gifted to the National Museum of American History by Mrs. Eisenhower.
On March 16, 1956, retired boxer Joe Louis made his debut as a professional wrestler at Uline Arena, defeating Cowboy Rocky Lee. Earlier that year on January 27, 1956, he had been the referee in the Uline Arena of a wrestling match between "Nature Boy" Rogers and Cowboy Rocky Lee.
On February 22, 1958, Michael Uline died at the age of 83. On March 28, 1958, his will was admitted to probate in the District Court. The validity of the will was under attack by his second wife, Mrs. Elva Houseman Uline. Requesting the court's sanction of the disputed documents were Uline's daughter Myrtle U. Pratt and Elizaberth R. Stine, executive Vice President of the M.J. Uline Company Inc. The will was one of three on file with the court. This will was drawn on October 15, 1957, and amended two months later. A 1955 will assigned the widow a trusteeship in the company. This provision was not in the latest will.