Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club
7719 Wisconsin Avenue,
Bethesda,
MD
20814
7719 Wisconsin Avenue,
Bethesda,
MD
20814
7 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Sidney B. Lust Theaters
Architects: John Adolph Emil Eberson
Functions: Concerts, Live Performances
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Boro Theatre, Bethesda Theatre, Bethesda Cinema 'N Drafthouse, Bethesda Theatre Cafe
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
240.330.4500
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Jun 22, 2010 — Bethesda Theatre to be auctioned
- Oct 19, 2007 — Bethesda returns with live theatre
- Jul 9, 2007 — Bethesda Theatre returns as playhouse
- Oct 29, 2003 — Today's Newsreel
- Oct 22, 2003 — Today's Newsreel
- Oct 17, 2003 — Nederlander Group To Restore Bethesda's Boro Theatre
Opened on May 19, 1938 as the Boro Theatre, the movie house changed its name just a year later to the Bethesda Theatre. It kept this name and operated continuously until the early-1980’s, when it closed.
In 1983, the historic theatre was purchased, renovated, and reopened as the Bethesda Cinema ‘N Drafthouse. In addition to watching a movie, moviegoers could feast on a steady diet of pizza, sandwiches, and beer. In the early-1990’s, the Bethesda Theatre changed its name again to the Bethesda Theatre Cafe, to bring more families and adults to its seats.
The Bethesda Theatre closed when construction of a new hi-rise began above the cinema, but in 2007 it re-opened for live shows. Closed in 2010, it reopened in February 2013 as the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
Here is a March 2010 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ylh7o6r
well… um…. even converted to showcase ‘live’ plays/musicals – this theatre is not surviving. I’m not sure where the fault lies, but it’s not able to operate under current management (or lack there of). Personally I’d book concerts and comedy acts/comedians – or even, (shock!] put a screen back up and show movies! Even in it’s current configurement, which I must admit isn’t well suited to live performances – the stage is set way too back.
This theater is going on the auction block as the current owners are in default on a mortgage: View link
the NBC channel 4 story (which they misspelled auction as “acution”) stated that the theatre is to remain, if and when a bid/purchase is made, as a performing arts venue
the marque now states the theater will reopen in the Fall (2012) as a Jazz/Blues music venue – I think they’d also might want to branch out and include other musical genres as well – it actually might work.
so the theater space is up and running again – for live music this time. (wonder how long it will stay open?)
A terrific theater. Saw a handful of movies there as a kid when it was part of the KB chain. The last movie I saw there before it became the Cinema ‘N Drafthouse was a truly abominable print of “2001: A Space Odyssey” in the autumn of 1981.
Is there anything preventing this location from becoming a movie theater again?
Undated link with photos and Vimeo presentation.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/1938-historic-theater-becomes-blues-jazz-club?fbclid=IwAR0O1F4OQd7i7YfSnWXnmWfiV4hhjqyteiwMMjmL1396NuOakLWfcbrH1Jk#/
The Bethesda was my go to neighborhood theater in the late ‘50s and into the 1970s. It had a gorgeous auditorium with a nice screen. In the early 1960s, they played some Disney features like “101 Dalmations” and they often had kiddie double features on Saturdays and Sundays. They’d mix a horror picture like “Tarantula” with “Abbott and Costello Go To Mars” and include a few cartoons as well. I vividly recall seeing both “The Sting” and “Barry Lyndon” at The Bethesda on their first runs. It was an excellent theater.