Atlas Peforming Arts Center

Washington, DC

1333 H Street NE

, Washington, DC 20002 United States

(map)

202.399.7993

Status:	Open
Screens:	Single Screen
Style:	Art Moderne

Function:	Performing Arts
Seats:	993
Chain:	Unknown

Architect:	John J. Zink
Firm:	Unknown

Opened on 31st August 1938 with Mickey Rooney in "Love Finds Andy Hardy". It was designed by architect John Zink in an Art Moderne style. The Atlas Theater seated nearly 1,000 patrons, with all seating on one floor and in its heyday it combined movies with live performances for almost four decades.

In 1968, riots hit this area of the city and H Street has still never fully recovered. The area's plunging fortunes eventually took the once popular theater down with it, and the Atlas closed in August 1976.

After purchasing the theater in 1985, the H Street Community Development Corp. renovated its famous Art Moderne facade in 1989 and sought a new tenant for the building.

In 1993 a new group emerged to restore, renovate, and reopen the Atlas Theater. In May 2002, the Sprenger-Lang Foundation put $450,000 down of the $1.2 million asking price for the shuttered movie house.

The purchase from the H Street Community Development Corporation, is the first step in a plan to turn the theater into a two-auditorium performing and community arts center.

Plans for the "Atlas Performing Arts Center" called for a roughly $12 million renovation effort that would create two different theater spaces and preserve the original elegance of the facade.

With the new plans underway, the future of the Atlas looks bright and it reopened in November 2006.

Related Websites

Atlas Performing Arts Center (Official)

Contributed by Cinema Treasures

YOUR COMMENTS

The Atlas Theatre is located at 1331 H Street.

posted by William on Nov 20, 2003 at 4:28pm

Is this bad-boy open again?

posted by BeltwayBrian on May 25, 2005 at 9:51am

This is a photo of the Atlas theater before the renovation and here is another.

The Atlas Performing Arts Center has a website here. It appears to be open.

posted by Lost Memory on Dec 9, 2005 at 1:40pm

The facade, blade sign and marquee have been beautifully restored. The neon really brightens up that stretch of H Street, which is beginning to make a comeback from decades of disinvestment and abandonment.

posted by dwight on Jan 11, 2006 at 8:26am

I didn't know they lt up the blade considering the present state the building is in. I have been driving on H street the last few days. There is a crane set up towards the back and the building sits exposed to the eliments. It is sad to see that the rest of the area is so run down.

“The work is proceeding in every part of the site now.” The next milestone will be replacing the roof on the old movie theatre space this winter. The masonry wall extensions can be seen on the south wall of that space, as well as the rear of the Joy of Motion studio that occupies the former Safeway. The increased height will enable theatre and dance companies to creatively set and light their performances in both the fixed-seat theatre (276 capacity) and flex-seat theatre (300 capacity). Both spaces will be ready for the fall season in 2006, which will include gala opening events and performances in late October.

http://www.atlasarts.org/

posted by East Coast Rocker on Feb 7, 2006 at 5:01pm

Here is another photo of the Atlas Theater.

posted by Lost Memory on Sep 27, 2006 at 1:33pm

as other members have noted, yes the Atlas Theatre has reopened but not as a film venue.

posted by Giles on May 31, 2007 at 5:29am

Here and here are February 2008 photos of the Atlas.

posted by JackCoursey on Feb 19, 2008 at 7:13am

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