Turner's Arena was the name given to a 1,800 seat arena, located at 1342 W Street, near the northeast corner of 14th and W Streets, NW in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, and originally owned by local

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

promoter Joe Turner. One of the popular events were bouts featuring local wrestler Swift Eagle and Chief Thunderbird as detailed in the House History Man blog. A photograph and advertisement for the arena appears on page 69 of the book Greater U Street by Paul K. Williams. This venue was an early home to the

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...

, a precursor to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, which was started by

Vincent J. McMahon Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), sometimes referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which was later renamed WWWF (World ...

in January 1953. McMahon took over the territory from Gabe Menendez, who had succeeded Turner after his death in 1947. In addition, the arena hosted top professional

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

matches promoted by Goldie Ahearn featuring fighters such as Lou Gevinson, Lew Hanbury, and Jimmy Cooper. It was also the birthplace of the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

annual basketball tournament, as well as the host to top

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

acts and

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

performances. It was renamed Capitol Arena in 1956 once Capitol Wrestling Corporation began broadcasting a syndicated weekly wrestling show from the arena every Thursday night. The arena was closed and demolished in 1965.

References

Basketball venues in Washington, D.C. Boxing venues in Washington, D.C. Defunct boxing venues in the United States 1965 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. {{WashingtonDC-sports-venue-stub