Calvert Theater
2324 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20007
2324 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20007
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The Calvert Theater was one of the many John Eberson-designed movie houses in Washington, DC. It opened on May 6, 1937 with Errol Flynn in “The Prince and the Pauper”. It was leased to Warner Brothers, who operated it for many years.
Taken over by Mann Theatres in July 1963, the Calvert Theater closed in 1967 and was later demolished. Its screen was removed after it was closed and installed at the Georgetown Theater.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
Bluesman’s e-mail is
After the theater was torn down the sign remained for a period of time, I think as the sign for Calvert Liquors. You went under the sign to enter the parking lot from Wisconsin Avenue. During the time that the theater was in existence the entrance to the parking lot was only from 37th Street; there was none from Wisconsin Avenue in those days.
I still remember the neon sign for the Calvert Theater. The letters were red. Each letter would light up in sequence: “C – A – L – V – E – R – T”. Then all the letters would go out. Then they would all come on again at once. Then they would all go out. Then the sequence would begin again.
Among the movies which I saw for the first time at the Calvert were “Vertigo”, “Rodan”, “Invaders From Mars”, “Cleopatra”, “How The West Was Won”, “The Blob”, and no doubt many others. Saturday matinees were thirty-five cents in the latter part of the 1950s.
Going to the Calvert Theatre was alot of fun during my high school years….As one of the “Avenue Boys” we usually spent the day playing ball at Jelleff’s Boys Club just down the street..
One night stands out..when our buddy…nicknamed “Jughead” …..got alittle too loud and rowdy during a ‘62 showing of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”……and we were asked to leave the premises.
photo of lobby:
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The Calvert Theater is listed in 1955 with 990 seats.
The Calvert closed 5/30/67 with a double bill of “Alfie” and “Funeral in Berlin”.
The Calvert began an on-again/off-again first-fun policy with “The Small World of Sammy Lee” on 9/20/63.
Among its more notable first-runs were “Knife In The Water” (1/64), “Bedtime Story” (6/64), “Marnie” (8/64), “The Slender Thread” (1/65), “Viva Maria” (2/66), “Shout Louder…” (12/66), and its last first-run “Night Games” (3/67).
“Marnie” which opened in multiple theaters that included the Calvert
was the first Alfred Hitcock film not to be shown in a downtown theater.
Most of the films ran from one to three weeks. ‘The Slender Thread" and “Viva Maria” both ran for four weeks. “The Easy Life” ran for six weeks.
“The Slender Thread opened in 1/66. Sorry about the typo
Photo from the Jack Coursey Collection
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Here’s a two-page article with photos from a 1937 trade journal: boxofficemagazine
First I apologize for the profile picture.I’m waiting on the webmaster’s answer as to how it was populated in the first place. Apparently the picture is a still of the actor Stephen Boyd who played the role of Messala in the 1959 film version of Ben-Hur.
All that to say that I remember going to see a double-feature of The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark in the 1960’s shortly before the theater was raised. My admission as a child was just 50 cents, adults, a dollar! Still love these movies today on DVD!