The Capitol Grounds Capitol Park (I), was a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
field in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The grounds were the home field for the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
of the
Union Association
The Union Association was an American professional baseball league which competed with Major League Baseball, lasting for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season.
Seven of the twelv ...
during the league's only season in .
The ballpark had a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 6,000, and was where the
Russell Senate Office Building
The Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908 and opened in 1909. It was named for former Senator Richard Russel ...
stands today.
[
*
*Smith, p. 40]
Most modern sources say that the ball field was bounded by C Street NE (north); Delaware Avenue NE (west): B Street (now Constitution Avenue) NE (south); and First Street NE (east); just northeast of the
Capitol building.
Contemporary newspaper advertisements (see below) give the location as "New Jersey Avenue and C Street", which would put the small ballpark slightly northwest of the Capitol rather than northeast. Local papers also give the location as "adjoining the Baltimore and Ohio depot",
ashington ''National Republican'', April 2, 1884, p.5which old maps place on the block bounded by North Capitol, New Jersey Avenue NW, C Street NW and D Street NW (see external link).
The ball club was able to finish its season despite a mediocre record, but the Union Association folded after the season ende
The club joined the minor Eastern League for the 1885 season. The club regrouped as a new entry to the National League in 1886, and moved a few blocks north to the larger
Swampoodle Grounds, Capitol Park (II).
External links
1888 Sanborn map showing the nearby Baltimore and Ohio Railroad depot
References
*Smith, Curt. 2003.
Storied Stadiums'. Carroll & Graf Publishers. .
Baseball venues in Washington, D.C.
Defunct baseball venues in the United States
Defunct sports venues in Washington, D.C.
{{WashingtonDC-baseball-venue-stub