D.C. Armory - Live Music Venue in Washington, D.C.

The D.C. Armory is a mixed armory and 10,000-seat arena in Washington, D.C.

Venue

D.C. Armory

Address

2001 E Capitol St SE, Washington, DC 20003

Town

Washington, D.C., US

Capacity

10,000

The D.C. Armory is a mixed armory and 10,000-seat arena in Washington, D.C. Managed by the Events DC, the Armory opened in 1941, as the headquarters, armory, and training facility for the District of Columbia National Guard. In 1994, it became a venue for a broad range of sports and public events. The Armory is adjacent to Stadium-Armory station and the former RFK Stadium and future New Stadium at RFK Campus. Prior to its construction, the Convention Hall located on 5th Street NW, between K and L had been used as an armory. Construction on the new armory began on June 2, 1940, and it opened on July 13, 1941. The structure was designed by the city's Municipal Architect, Nathan C. Wyeth. The D.C. Armory replaced the National Armory, a 1910 structure which was designed by New York City architect Electus D. Litchfield. OPLAN 1954, a 1954 war game preparing for an atomic bomb exploding over Washington, D.C., supposed that a vacant parking lot near the Armory could be turned into an emergency airstrip for delivering medical supplies. Initially, nonmilitary use of the Armory was facilitated by the D.C. Armory Board, which was formed in 1948. During its existence the board oversaw the use of both the Armory and RFK Stadium. In 1994 the board was dissolved and the city's use of the Armory came under the authority of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC), which later became the Washington Convention and Sports Authority. The Armory is served by Stadium-Armory station on the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro. The Armory shared a car parking lot with the defunct Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK Stadium). The Armory's Drill Field is approximately 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) and has hosted trade shows, concerts, warehouse sales, the Washington Auto Show, sporting events, and Presidential inauguration balls. The Washington Diplomats played indoor soccer at the armory in 1978. The armory has hosted the WCW Capital Combat professional wre