It's hard to believe, amid the crumbling concrete and parked cars, this is where history was made.

Fifty years ago, The Beatles played their first U.S. concert in this D.C. arena, formerly known as the Washington Coliseum.

Mike Mitchell was an aspiring photographer who was there when the Fab Four took the stage.

SOUNDBITE: PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE MITCHELL, SAYING:

"You started to hear a little rumble in the crowd. And you know, the cops had a little narrow channel for them to walk through, right, to get up onto the stage. And you know, all of a sudden the Beatles were kind of like up on the stage, and they puttered around for three or four minutes with their stuff. And then they started doing 'Roll Over Beethoven,' which was great."

More than 8,000 fans packed the arena, mostly screaming teenage girls.

SOUNDBITE: PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE MITCHELL, SAYING:

"It was such a unified scream. You know, there were all these different people but it all melted into o