Capitol Hill Theatre
645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE,
Washington,
DC
20003
645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE,
Washington,
DC
20003
1 person
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This theater opened in 1910, on Pennsylvania Avenue, near Seward Square and not far from Capitol Hill. It was originally called the Avenue Grand Theatre, and designed by architect William C. Allard in elegant Georgian Revival style. Remodeled in March 1916 by architect Appleton P. Clark when the theatre was taken over by Harry Crandall.
In 1956 it was renamed the Capitol Hill Theatre, it remained in operation until 1970, when a fire broke out in the theatre and it was gutted. It was demolished and an office building sits on the site today.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Theaterowner DON KING did a really smart thing taking over the shabby Avenue Grand double feature house and playing first run exclusives at higher admission prices. Being the only theater showing a particular movie would lure people into the then-crime-ridden Capitol Hill neighborhood. Eventually though, high crime under Washington’s cocaine sniffing mayor Marion Barry (D) got the best of this place. Burning the theatre down was the final straw.
A Moller theater organ opus 2921 size 2/8 was installed in the Avenue Grand Theater in 1920.
Here is a 1920 photograph of the Avenue Grand Theatre, a current view of the site and some more details:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/5453?
Nice photo KenRoe.