Dunbar Theater
1901-1903 Seventh Street NW,
Washington,
DC
1901-1903 Seventh Street NW,
Washington,
DC
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There is a more recent photo of the building on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/le2yxk
I think it’s erroneous to describe the DUNBAR as equally historic as the nearby HOWARD. Nobody living today is old enough to remember stage shows at the DUNBAR, but the much, much larger HOWARD just across the street was the site of LIVE stage shows featuring hundreds of Black performers such as James Brown, Pearl Bailey, Little Richard and virtually every rock n roll star of that era. The DUNBAR served the community as a double feature movie theater at an admission price of about 1/3 the price of the HOWARD (both were bargains by any standard) until sky high crime in the Shaw area ruined everything.
The DUNBAR is right now being converted to a Wachovia bank, as extensive renovation of Washington’s long neglected town houses is now just one block from the DUNBAR.
Make no mistake, the HOWARD was equal to the APOLLO in New York when it came to presenting live entertainment.
actually, the dunbar is now an apartment building. they will probably be converted though.
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Caption on back of this photo:
Marshall Murray, owner & operator of / the Dunbar Theater, 7th & T St., N.W. / only black owned cinema, featured Western / films
Courtesy of the Smithsonian
The Dunbar is being converted into Condos. I was by there in November and saw that the roof had been replaced and the interior work was coming along. If you have 200 thousand plus you can get a place there.