Early History
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. 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." Opening Day 1911, the grandstand was sufficiently stable enough to host President William Howard Taft and the Boston Red Sox, as well as 16,000 fans. Construction of Griffith Stadium continued while the Senators were on the road, and was not completed until July 24, 1911.
Read more about this topic: Griffith Stadium
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