Loew's Palace Theater
1306 F Street NW,
Washington,
DC
20004
1306 F Street NW,
Washington,
DC
20004
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 29 comments found
Photo of the Loew’s Palace.
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Interesting history, and great pictures.
Some interior photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/kp2q6b
That was a beautiful-looking theatre, both inside and out. It’s a pity what happened to it.
Couple more pictures
http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/stucat/DCLoews74a.JPG
http://www.shorpy.com/node/5844?size=_original
Renewing link.
Adding to my previous posts above, here is another batch of films that played at Loew’s Palace theater. Like the others above, the dates are Wednesday dates, although in later years, films may have opened on Fridays. Research is from Variety and microfilms of The Washington Post. There were a number of weeks that the theater was used for live concerts…sorry, but I did not write down who the acts were, but many of them were soul/rhythm & blues groups or artists.
01/01/72 Dirty Harry
01/26/72 (stage show)
02/02/72 The School Girls
02/16/72 (stage show)
02/23/72 I Spit on Your Grave
03/01/72 (stage show)
03/08/72 Soul Soldier
03/22/72 (stage show)
03/29/72 The Ten Commandments
04/12/72 Georgia, Georgia
04/19/72 05/12/72 The Abductors
05/24/72 Malcolm X (documentary)
06/07/72 The Final Comedown
06/14/72 The Seduction of Inga
06/21/72 Ben
06/28/72 A Place Called Today
07/05/72 Top of the Heap
07/19/72 Come Back, Charleston Blue
08/16/72 (stage show)
08/23/72 Super Fly
10/25/72 (stage show)
11/15/72 Trouble Man
12/20/72 Black Gunn
01/17/73 Slaughter Hotel
01/31/73 (stage show)
02/07/73 Riot/The Legend of Nigger Charley
02/14/73 Trick Baby
03/21/73 Scream Bloody Murder
03/28/73 The Bus is Coming/Honky
04/04/73 (stage show)
04/11/73 The Mack
05/23/73 The Soul of Nigger Charley
06/06/73 Charley One-Eye
06/13/73 The Hammer of God
06/20/73 Super Fly TNT
07/11/73 Fox Style
07/25/73 Cleopatra Jones
09/12/73 Detroit 9000
09/26/73 Gordon’s War
10/17/73 Save the Children
10/31/73 Fearless Fighters
11/14/73 Isaac Hayes: The Black Moses of Soul
11/21/73 Blood of the Dragon
11/28/73 Queen Boxer
12/05/73 Black Belt
12/12/73 Triple Irons
12/19/73 The Chinese Professionals
01/09/74 Fists of the Double K
01/16/74 Black Belt Jones
02/06/74 Karate Killer
02/13/74 Deadly China Doll
02/20/74 The Godfathers of Hong Kong
02/27/74 The Bamboo Brotherhood
03/06/74 Man of Iron
03/13/74 From China, With Death
03/20/74 Three Tough Guys
04/03/74 Willie Dynamite
04/17/74 The Hong Kong Connection
04/24/74 Blood Fingers/The Hammer of God
05/01/74 Black Eye
05/15/74 The Chinese Godfather
05/29/74 The Black Connection/Run, Nigger, Run
06/05/74 The Take
06/19/74 Detroit 9000/Fox Style
06/26/74 Three the Hard Way
07/24/74 The Education of Sonny Carson
08/07/74 Johnny Tough!
09/04/74 Black Samson
09/18/74 Together Brothers
10/02/74 Lady Sings the Blues/The Education of Sonny Carson
10/09/74 Zebra Killer
10/23/74 Foxy Brown/Truck Turner
10/30/74 Hangup
11/13/74 The Street Fighter
11/27/74 The Black Hooker
12/11/74 Enter the Dragon/The Five Fingers of Death
12/18/74 Boss Nigger
One final post to be added later will detail the films that played there from January 1, 1975 until the closing of the Palace in April 1978.
Wow!! What a lot of movies that played at this theatre!! Too bad about what happened to it. It sounds as if the robbery and the shootings that ensued in its wake hastened its demise. What a shame.
At the risk of sounding obsessive, did the film West Side Story ever play there at all? Just curious.
Loew’s Palace also served as a concert venue: I saw Quicksilver Messenger Service there in 1971, with Brewer & Shipley. A suburban kid, I had little experience with downtown movie palaces except for the Uptown and was dazzled by its still-opulent interior.
The year given for this photo is 1926.
The Palace is visible in the background of this 1979 photo (indicating that the building was not torn down in 1978).
“Mogambo” was October 1953. “At War With the Army,” the third of the 16 Martin and Lewis movies and the first in which they were top-billed, opened in December 1950 to big business. It was the picture in which they really hit their stride, although it does not hold up very well today. It was re-released a few years later but didn’t do much at that time.
Yes, Mogambo was earlier.
Mogambo – 1966??? Is that a typo?
LOEW’S 3 downtown theatres used to have continuous performances all day: Feature, cartoon, news, previews. Opening at 10:45 am except Sunday 12:45, features were usually at 11:00, 1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:45 and Sat 11:45. Good pictures did strong business all day every day. Sometimes they were swamped with customers, even in the 1950’s when people stayed home with their 8" Motorola b&w TV’s.
The Palace had a long corridor between the double box office and the theatre, lined with medeival torches and mirrors. Upstairs beyond that was a big lobby — ample room for standees. In 1953 when they had Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (the hottest act in America) in “AT WAR WITH THE ARMY” my brother and I bought tickets and went inside at 7:30 but didn’t get inside to the actual theater until after 9:30. Similarly, in 1966 for Clark Gable and Grace Kelly in MOGAMBO a two hour wait. But, guess what, it was fun. And seeing a major hit movie in a great atmospheric theatre like the PALACE was never ever less than wonderful.
Pictures of The Palace on LOC site..
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The only movie I’ve ever seen in a D.C. theater was “Bad Day at Black Rock” at Loew’s Palace early in 1954. A memorable occasion. – Ed Blank
That organ was replaced/upgraded (not specified) with a Moller theater organ opus 4319 size 3/32 in 1925.
A Moller theater organ opus 2473 size 3/17 was installed in the Loew’s Palace Theater in 1917.
My grandfather (Joe Monaco) was a film projectionist at “The Palace” (as he called it) for many years. I believe from the 30’s until it closed in the late 70’s. He was 73 years old when he retired from there.
Does anyone know of someone who may have known or worked with him?
LOEW’S PALACE was a wonderful place to see the very best MGM and 20th Century-Fox pictures (plus others) in a deluxe palace-like atmosphere. I saw over 100 movies here, but one special occasion was the first night of THE COURT JESTER in the late 1950’s. DANNY KAYE performed for two shows one night only. He got so carried away that his 30 minute appearance lasted an extra 60 minutes. Regular price too. $1.49, I think. On the dark side, LOEW’S PALACE and the heart of downtown Washington began a lingering death with the 1968 Martin Luther King Riots, when vandals took it upon themselves to burn and loot at will. Scan the movies above you’ll see a rapid turn from quality to junk in 1968. Downtown Washington was dead and scarred for 20 years. We still have no meaningful downtown, and NO I have not forgiven the vandals.
That’s a great old night shot
Old photo:
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Some trivia for you: Loew’s Palace Theater was built in 1917. Building permit #991 issued 4/28/17. Builder was the Fleischman Construction Company. This building incorporates Baroque and Classical style while the simple facade is Art Deco.
Loew’s still ran this theater well into the 1970s.