Georgetown Theatre
1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20007
1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC
20007
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It was great to see the sign all lit up and featured in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’!
To answer a question I had originally asked: ‘Caligula’s theatrical run here was fifteen months, from March 28, 1980 and ended on June 30, 1981. The Washington Post advert has been included in the photos section.
added picture of the restored outdoor theater sign.
1959 photo added courtesy of the AmeriCar The Beautiful Facebook page.
@ aabner – the Embassy is now the AED Globe Theater, I isn’t going to happen but I wish CVS would leave the McArther location and convert it back to a theater – what a loss for that neighborhood. I hadn’t realized that the building was up ‘For Sale’ til I drove by it this afternoon – there are a lot of stores that closed in that neck of Wisconsin Ave. it’s really sad. Know anyone would be interested in converting it back to a theater ?? I’d help.
Here is a picture of it as the Dumbarton: View link
my father played the piano here on Sat.mornings
for the silent movies when he was 16yrs.(1926).
I grew up hearing him play the music when the indians
were comming over the hill for the cowboys.
My mother’s parents ownened the store to the left.
It was a candy/soda store and it was here that my
parents met. They were married for 56 years.
I have been looking for a picture showing the theater
and the store for a long time. This picture made my day!
Question: how long DID ‘Caligula’ play at the Georgetown?? – it seemed at least a couple of years
this building is now for sale. $2 million asking. I live down the street and would love to see this transformed back into a theater/screening room. i envision it like the non-profit aero in santa monica where I used to live. went to e street last weekend for a 8p showing of roshomon. it was packed. there is a definite need for classic movie screenings and maybe supplmt with weekly tv show screenings for college crowd, screening room rental, events, etc.
anyone know whats happening with embassy and mcarth?
My friend’s family owned the theater (and building). We took some of the seats after it was leased to the Jewel Center. I have lots of memories of this place. Lots of posters and flats too. It had an old arc lamp projector until the end. My friend tells me it was a nickelodeon when it first opened. This is where Henry Rollins of Black Flag worked and the theater was used in the movie St. Elmo’s Fire..
Here and here are a couple of shots from January 2008 of what remains of the old Georgetown Theatre. The interior was completely gutted when the building was converted into a retail space.
Mr Heon used to own this theater, he also own the Wheaton Plaza theather, I use to work there.
Here is my photo. Not bad for having a map in one hand, a camera in the other and a knee on the steering wheel:
View link
This theater is now a jewelry store. The blue vertical marquee is still there. I’ll post a photo shortly.
No…correct the first time…15 instruments…confusingly labeled recording. Decent music.
Sorry, that was Stravinsky’s Concerto in E Flat for string orchestra that was subtitled “Dumbarton Oaks.”
I’m puzzled. Shouldn’t it in fact be spelled Dumbarton, with an “m,” after Dumbarton Oaks? It was the estate of a Washington music lover where the conference took place that would give birth to the United Nations. Igor Stravinsky composed a piece of music to honor the event , the Concerto in E Flat for 15 Instruments, subtitled “Dumbarton Oaks.” I have a recording.
LITTLE was on 9th Street between F and G Streets.
Does anyone remember a D.C. movie theatre that in the 1940s and later was called the “Little Cinema” or “Little Theatre”? I’ve seen references to it but could not find it on Cinema Treasures. It was an art house. I’d like to know the address and/or other names for this place.
PS: The GEORGETOWN, long and narrow, had about 400 seats.
The GEORGETOWN was brilliantly successful during the bleak low-box office era when people were at home with their 9" Motorola TV’s. By booking high quality classic movies, rather than mainstream, they countered the tide and wrote the book on repratory cinema. Normally near-full 7 nights a week. When Penthouse Magazine long-term rented the theatre for their X-movie CALIGULA (at triple the regular price) the theatre’s image changed, and I think people blamed the GEORGETOWN, not PENTHOUSE, for the CALIGULA rip-off. Imgaine if at today’s $9 price you go to a theatre and without advance warning the admission is $27.00. >>> The GEORGETOWN lives on in one sense. When Hollywood shoots a movie in the colorful “O” Street section of town, the GEORGETOWN THEATRE facade is restored and the jewelry store is covered over. [A definite loss to Washington.]
By time I transferred to Howard Univ. in DC in January of ‘83, the Georgetown played the X-rated 1979 version of “Caligula” all day every day.