One of America's last surviving multipurpose arenas from the cookie cutter era is nearing the end of a long, remarkable run.  Making its debut in 1961, DC Stadium was home to the NFL's Washington Redskins and Major League Baseball's Washington Senators.  It was renamed in honor of Robert F. Kennedy in 1969 after he was assassinated while running for president.  In 1972 the Senators moved to Arlington, TX and became the Rangers.  But it was Washington's NFL team that had the longest and most successful tenure at RFK.  Between 1982 and 1991, they won three Super Bowls.  Then in 1996, the Redskins moved to the brand new FedEx Field in nearby Landover, MD. For almost a decade, only minor league teams would call RFK home.  

That changed in 2005 when Major League Baseball returned to Washington. However, RFK was only to be a temporary home through 2007.  Their long term ballpark opened in 2008.  I made my only visit to RFK Stadium in 2007 to watch the Phillies take on the Nationals.  It was as big and impressive, if aged, as I was expecting.  Moreover, it was strange to be in a cookie cutter stadium that outlived the one in my hometown. Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium had a much shorter lifespan from 1971 until it was imploded in 2005.  

Since the Nationals left, RFK's primary occupant has been Major League Soccer's DC United.  The venerable structure has worked well enough for a time but advanced deterioration is now taking its toll. Furthermore, almost every other MLS team plays in a soccer specific stadium.  After a number of false starts, the United will finally get a new stadium of their own in the 2018 season.

Here's a brief overview of RFK's history.

And here is a news report from 2014 that shows just how RFK is falling apart.  

To follow up on my previous blog, the Schuylkill Mall closed its doors at the end of business on August 31.  The attached movie theater will continue to operate until the end of the year.