Metropole II
104-108 Rhode Island Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20001
104-108 Rhode Island Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20001
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Crandall Amusement Company
Architects: N.T. Haller
Previous Names: American Theatre, Sylvan Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The American Theatre opened in 1913 with about 300 seats (later enlarged to 750). The architect was N.T. Haller who designed a façade of Pompeian brick with white marble trim.
In March 1929 it was re-named the Sylvan Theatre and was managed by Sylvan Deitz. In 1950 it became an African-American theatre serving that community thru to at least 1955. The Sylvan Theatre closed as a movie theatre in 1965 with Sean Connery in “Dr No” & Sean Connery in “From Russia With Love”.
It became a nightclub known as the Metropole and also an antique store. By 1977 it was operating as a gay male adult theatre named Metropole II, operated by the same operators as the Metropole Cinema Club at 411 L Street NW (which has its own page on Cinema Treasures).
The building was used as a laundromat and for other retail use and by 2021 was in use as a bar and café.
Contributed by
Lost Memory, Howard B. Haas
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
A 1948 Times Herald lists the Sylvan as a “Bernheimer"s Theatre at 104 RI Ave N.W Telephone NO-9689,, Ad reads, "Scientifically Air-Conditioned” Double Feature, “Return of the Whistler” Michael Duane, Lenore Aubert and “The Dead Don’t Dream” William Boyd Matinee at 1 P.M
1960&61 Yellow Pages list the Sylvan but not as a Louis Bernheim Theatre.. At 104 RI Ave N.W. telephone NO-7-9689
It is difficult to tell what if anything remains of the Sylvan’s auditorium. Most of the area which has been converted to retain seems only to cover what would have been the theatre lobby.
The Sylvan closed on July 22, 1965 with the double bill of “Dr. No” and “From Russia, With Love”.