Outer Circle 1-2
4849 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20016
4849 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20016
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cineplex Odeon, Circle Theatres, K-B Theatres
Architects: Walter Woodhouse
Firms: Goenner, Woodhouse & Associates
Nearby Theaters
The Outer Circle 1-2 opened May 22, 1970. Built as a twin with one auditorium to the left and the other to the right, as you walked in. The larger auditorium had 284 seats and the smaller auditorium 154 seats. The decor was plain, with auditorium walls decorated with the signs of the zodiac
The Pedas Brothers, who founded Circle Theatres, opened the moviehouse. Circle sold their theaters in 1988 to Cineplex Odeon, which merged into Loews. The Outer Circle 1-2 always showed arthouse movies. The theater was a few blocks north of the KB Cinema. With Landmark building theaters in the downtown and suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Outer Circle no longer was viable and it closed in 2004.
It was demolished in summer 2007.
Contributed by
Howard B Haas
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
This is my late 2004 photo showing the then closed Entry building of the Outer Circle:
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This photo seems to show demolition onsite:
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The large auditorium is the building to the left of the entry-lobby building that has the Outer Circle lettering. The smaller auditorium isn’t seen in this photo, but is to the right of the entry lobby building.
The first and only movie I saw during this venue’s run was In the Bedroom back in ‘02. I thought Spacek would get another Oscar, but as it turned out, it was not meant to be. It was in the smaller auditorium to the right, if memory serves me correctly. There were stereo speakers all along the wall of the place but the film didn’t really make much use of them.
It seems that Wisconsin Ave is not the movie venue destination that it once was with the now closed Wisconsin Ave 6, Tenley 3, Studio 3 (a forgettable place), Cinema, Jenifer and Paris 3.
FYI. There is a terrific and inexpensive Thai restaurant across the street that is still open for business. I still go there every now and then.
I saw in 1985: When Father was Away on Business, 1986: Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1987: The Whistle Blower, 1988: (1) The Dead, (2) The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. 1995: (1) The Usual Suspects, (2) Persuasion. By 1995, curtains no longer used before the movies. Arthouse crowds often filled these theaters.
Also, I see my notes indicate the decoration on the theater walls was painted. Yep, that’s what I recall. 1970’s visual. That bigger auditorium on the left had a decent enough screen. The smaller one on the right wasn’t big enough.
Gone, Rest in Peace!
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May 22nd, 1970 grand opening ad in photo section
I saw countless movies here, but the first one I remember seeing as a kid was the ‘Pippi Longstocking’ movie that came out in 1973.
The only movie I saw here in my life was “The Straight Story” in 1999. Was visiting from out of town. At least I saw a good one!