Swampoodle Grounds aka Capitol Park (II) was the home of the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
from
1886
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.
* January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...
to
1889
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...
. The name refers to the one-time
Swampoodle neighborhood of Washington.
The ballfield was located on a block bounded by North Capitol Street NE and tracks (west); F Street NE (south); Delaware Avenue NE (east); and G Street NE (north); a few blocks north of the
Capitol building. Spectators faced toward the south and could see the Capitol dome. They could also see the McDowell and Sons Feed Mill, visible behind right field in the picture, and which was across F Street to the south.
The club moved a few blocks north, from
Capitol Park (I) to the Swampoodle location, upon joining the National League. Local papers reported that the new grounds had more space and a more favorable lease. The papers often referred to the new grounds as Capitol Park, even as the previous Capitol Park was still in use, under the same name, for various types of entertainment. When referencing the previous park, the reports would general specify its location, to minimize possible confusion.
Portions of the site were eventually annexed as the site of the
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
and of the Main Post Office, which is now the
National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United S ...
.
Swampoodle Grounds held 6,000. The Washington Statesmen folded after the end of the 1889 season.
External links
Swampoodle Grounds at Project BallparkHistory of the McDowell plant*
Baseball venues in Washington, D.C.
Defunct baseball venues in the United States
Defunct sports venues in Washington, D.C.
Demolished buildings and structures in Washington, D.C.
Demolished sports venues in the United States
History of Washington, D.C.
Sports venues completed in 1886
1886 establishments in Washington, D.C.
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