Tenants: Washington Senators I (Minnesota Twins; AL), 1903-1960; Washington Senators II (Texas Rangers; AL), 1961.
Opened: 1891
First Senators game: Aprill 22, 1903
Rebuilt: July 24, 1911
First night game: May 28, 1941
Last game: September 21, 1961
Demolished: January 26, 1965
Capacity: 32,000 (1921); 27,550 (1961).

Architect: Osborn Engineering (1911)
Construction: n/a
Owner: Washington Senators
Cost: n/a

Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins & Texas Rangers tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Nationals tickets, Twins tickets, Rangers tickets and MLB tickets.

Location: Left field (E), Larch (later Fifth) Street NW; third base (N), Howard University, then Pomeroy (later W) Street NW; first base (W), J. Frank Kelley Lumber and Mill Works, then Georgia Avenue (also called Seventh Street) NW; right field (S), Spruce Street (later U) Street NW.

Dimensions: Left field: 407 (1911), 424 (1921), 358 (1926), 407 (1931), 402 (1936), 405 (1942), 375 (Opening Day, 1947), 405 (remainder, 1947), 402 (1948), 386 (1950), 408 (1951), 405 (1952), 388 (1954), 386 (1956), 350 (1957), 388 (1961); left of left-center at corner: 383 (1931), 366 (1954), 360 (1956); right of left-center at bend in bleachers: 409 (1942), 398 (1954), 383 (1955), 380 (1956); left-center: 391 (1911), 380 (1950); center field: 421; center field corner to left of building protection wall: 423 (1926), 441 (1930), 422 (1931), 426 (1936), 420 (1942), 426 (1948), 420 (1950), 394 (1951), 420 (1952), 421 (1953), 426 (1954), 421 (1955), 426 (1961); inner tip of building protection wall: 409 (1943), 408 (1953); deepest corner-right end of building protection wall, right-center: 378 (1954), 372 (1955), 373 (1956); right field 328 (1909), 326 (1921), 328 (marked, 1926), 320 (actual, 1926), 320 (1956); backstop: 61.

Fences: Left field: 11.25 (foul pole to 408 mark concrete, 1953), 12 (from 410 corner near left-field foul pole to 408 mark just right of dead center, 1954), 8 to 10 (wood in the corner in front of the bullpen at the foul pole, 1955), 6.5 (wire and plywood in front of bullpen, 1956); center field: 30 (concrete 408 mark to 457, 1954), 6 (wire and plywood, 1956); right-center: to the left of the scoreboard in front of the bullpen: 4 (wood from 457 mark to 435 mark, 1953), 10 (wood, 1955), 4 (wood, 1959); right-center scoreboard: 41 (1946); National Bohemian Beer bottle: 56 (1946); right field 30 (concrete, 1953), 31 (concrete, 1954).

Trivia:

• A.K.A. American League Park, Beyer's Seventh Street Park, League Park, National Park (until 1920), Clark Griffith Park (1922).
• Renamed Griffith Stadium in 1920.
• Loudspeaker horn high on the wall in center.
• The center-field wall detoured around five houses and a tree that jutted into the field of play.
• Right-field foul line was the grandstand wall for the last 15 in front of the foul pole.
• It was downhill from the plate to first base, to save a step for slow Washington batters.
• U.S. presidents traditionally opened each season by throwing out the first ball in this stadium.
• National Bohemian Beer bottle, above right-center scoreboard, was approximately 50 feet tall.
• Park was rebuilt after March 17, 1911, fire; completed on July 24, 1911.
• Double-decked in 1920 from the bases down to the foul poles.
• New roof higher than the original second deck roof behind the plate.
• Hosted the 1956 and 1937 All-Star games.
• Park demolished from January 26 to August 14, 1965.
• 909 of the seats are now in use at Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida.

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• Baseball in Washington, D.C. by Frank Ceresi, Mark Rucker & Carol McMains.
• Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
• The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
• City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense about Cities and Baseball Parks by Philip Bess.
• Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark by Michael Gershman.
• Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks by Philip J. Lowry.
• Lost Ballparks: A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields by Lawrence S. Ritter.
• Roadside Baseball: A Guide to Baseball Shrines Across America by Chris Epting.
• The Story of America's Classic Ballparks (VHS).