Washington Sports Arena - Washington, DC - Beatlemania! on Waymarking.com

The arena still stands, however it has been converted into an REI and has posters from the Beatles concert and other events decorating the interior.

"On February 11, 1964, The Beatles played their first concert in the United States at the Washington Coliseum, less than 48 hours after the band's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. According to John B. Lynn, Harry Lynn got a call asking him if he was interested in having the Beatles at the Coliseum. He had never heard of them but said yes. Though Harry usually did not meet his acts, he did meet the Beatles. He had been stationed in Liverpool and may have felt a connection there. He was not expecting such a crowd, especially with the snow. He had run only one ad in the Washington Post and the concert had sold out in days.

A major snowstorm had fallen on the east coast of the United States. All flights had been canceled so the Beatles arrived in Washington, D.C. through Union Station via the Congressman, the Pennsylvania Railroad express train. There were eight inches of snow on the ground all over the city but fans were out.

Tickets to the show at the Coliseum ranged from $2 to $4. There were 8,092 fans at the concert, which was to be opened by The Chiffons, and Tommy Roe. However, because of the snow, The Chiffons were unable to make it and were replaced by Jay and the Americans. In 2014, Roe reflected on the event:

The marquee didn't say anything about the other acts. It just said "The Beatles." It was all about them. But I wasn't offended. That's just the way it worked. I was there to do my two songs and then get off the stage.

The Beatles took the stage at 8:31pm and opened with "Roll Over Beethoven." The artists were in the middle of the Coliseum on a boxing ring platform. It was the first time (and possibly the only time) that the band had played "in the round". The goal was to fit as many people in the Coliseum and this configuration allowed for 8,000 to fit versus 6,000 to 6,500 if they have set the stage at one end.

The Beatles had a 12-song set and played for approximately 40 minutes.


Screenshot of the February 11, 1964, concert footage from The Beatles as visible in The Beatles Box Set
The following songs were played in this order:

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
The commentary by Leroy Aarons, The Washington Post National Correspondent reviewing the concert shows that America did not grasp what was happening in the Arena:

An 8000-voice choir performed last night at Washington Coliseum in the premiere of what is likely to become an American classic. Call it in B for want of a better name. The choir was accompanied, incidentally, by four young British artists who call themselves the Beatles. Their part was almost completely obscured by the larger choral group, but one imagines they'll be heard from again. [...] One was impressed by the versatility of the choral group, most of whom seemed to be teen-age girls. Their range invites comparison with Yma Sumac, their intensity of emotion with the victim in a Hitchcock film. Caruso would envy their volume. The greatest belly dancer could hardly match their physical agility.... While their voices are a bit thin, [The Beatles] possess the quality of semi-hysteria so necessary for this kind of performance. Also, they sweat and smile a lot.

In 2004, he reviewed his comment:

We were a couple of old fogies over 30. I was completely wrong.

The concert was videotaped by CBS. It was then transferred to kinescope. On March 14 and 15, 1964, it was shown in 100 movie theaters and in the Uline Arena. The video of the concert not only contains the Beatles show but was also fleshed out with content from other separate performances from The Beach Boys and Lesley Gore. Three of the songs played at the venue are featured in The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit DVD: I Wanna Be Your Man, She Loves You and I Saw Her Standing There. The Anthology 3 contains She Loves You and I Saw Her Standing There as well as Please Please Me. A bootleg copy of the full concert appears to have been available in fall 2003 but it was immediately removed from the market after the legal team of Apple Records got involved.[48]

The concert film is now available in its entirety exclusively from the iTunes Store as part of The Beatles Box Set on the Past Masters, Vols. 1&2 disc." - Wikipedia

Location: 1132, 1140, and 1146 3rd St. NE Washington, District of Columbia Type of location: Concert venue Connection to The Beatles: First concert they played in the United States

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