A place that once sold live goats and poultry now hosts live music instead. Meet the D.C. Pavilion, which stands in the location of the original Union Market, and just opened as a community-centered entertainment and events space.

“Music, fresh air, sunshine, good beer, good food—what that says to me is fun, fun, fun,” says Tony Puesan, the visionary behind the pavilion. “And you’ve got to share that with the community.”

Puesan is the owner/operator of community jazz non-profit HR-57, which shuffled locations from U Street to H Street before shuttering. He sees the pavilion as the spot for jazz jam sessions, as well as salsa nights, yoga classes, and more. Already, Batalá Washington, the all-women Afro-Brazilian band, uses the ample space for practice.

Along with his number two, Mark Saltman, Puesan has been spending the last year readying the location. The plot of land in NoMa, which is owned by Gallaudet, was overrun with weeds and shards of broken glass. In addition to clearing the physical space, they had to acquire the necessary permits from the city. And they brought in Josh Adkins, a co-owner of Baltimore-based Raven Beer, to head up a beer garden and help ready the place for visitors.

As NoMa populates with more beer gardens, Saltman says that Raven offers “not exactly the same beers that everyone else has.” In addition to their offerings, all of which have Edgar Allen Poe-themed names (the Dark Usher, for instance, is a surprisingly refreshing dark Kolsch), they also offer other local selections on their 32 taps. All of the beers cost $8 for a 16 oz. glass.

When you enter the D.C. Pavilion, the space feels vast. Adkins says it can hold 4,500 people. Aside from the picnic tables spanning the lot’s length, covered by an industrial-looking roof, there is a ton of room for games like bocce ball and, potentially, laser tag, which is in the works, according to Puesan. To the side of the tables where we’re sitting is a stage, bookended by 40 by 40 foot shipping crates that hold equipment.

Indeed, he is brimming with ideas for the pavilion. He wants to bring in food pop-ups. He sees Jazz Under the Stars and a Bob Marley tribute event. He’s planning a night market in September, which’ll be an “assortment of food trucks, vendors, and live music.” As we’re talking, John Lennon’s “Imagine” comes on the speakers, sparking some more inspiration. “We should do a John Lennon cover concert,” he says. “The goal is to activate the space.”

Gallaudet University has owned the parcel of land since the mid-70’s. “We basically used it for storage space for our facilities and equipment,” says Fred Weiner, assistant vice president for administration at the university. “Given all the exciting changes that are happening the neighborhood, we recognize the opportunity to be a part of that change, making it a place you can bring in different kinds of people from all walks of life.”

In the long term, Gallaudet has an agreement with developer JBG to turn that land, along with other real estate holdings that total about seven acres, into a mixed-use development, Weiner says. He estimates that will happen within the next 10 years.

“Our plan is to maintain control of the property,” Weiner says. He’s excited about working with the folks at D.C. Pavilion in the interim. “We have conversations with them about possibly doing entertainment in sign language, having ASL-interpreted events, hiring students to work at the site,” he said. He expects to firm that up before the semester begins.

Puesan says he wants to host a lot of events for Gallaudet, and those that get students mingling with the rest of the community.

He shows me a video from the recent Colombian Festival, which packed the pavilion with attendees looking to dance, eat, and drink. In the video, a young man and an old woman are grooving, quite impressively, to live tunes as the crowd cheers them on. Puesan smiles. “I can’t call this work. This is too much fun.”

The Raven Beer Garden at the D.C. Pavilion is located at 1399 5th Street NE. Summer hours are Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m. until “whenever.”