Early history[edit]
On March 17, 1911, Boundary Field, also known as National Park and American League Park II, was destroyed by a fire started by a plumber’s blowtorch.[1][2] This left the owners of the Washington Senators in a difficult situation, due to the fact that spring training had already begun and opening day was less than a month away. Thomas C. Noyes, president of the Senators, gained approval from the club’s board of directors to build a new ballpark with a steel grandstand on the same site as Boundary Field. The quick construction of the ballpark was reported by The Washington Post: “Day and night the chanting of the negro laborers has been heard in the vicinity, like Aladdin’s palace, the structure rose as if by magic.”[2] Opening Day 1911, the grandstand was sufficiently stable to host President William Howard Taft and the Boston Red Sox, as well as 16,000 fans.[3] Construction of Griffith Stadium continued while the Senators were on the road, and was not completed until July 24, 1911.[4]
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