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Washington circa 1920. "Crandall's Avenue Grand," 645 Pennsylvania Avenue S.E. Now playing: "Dangerous to Men." National Photo Co. View full size.
Robert K. Headley's "Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C." has this info about the fate of the Avenue Grand: It was renamed the Capitol Hill between 1956 and 1970. Don King operated it in the sixties, refurbishing it in 1967, with unrealized plans to make it a cinematheque where patrons could eat. A fire in November 1970 gutted the building, and it was razed soon after.
The theater is gone, but the building with the elaborate brickwork on the right (seen through the trees) is still there, now a liquor store.
Did anyone notice the shadowy guy in front of M.B. Flynn's Stoves?
John Barrymore in "Dr Jekyll & Mrs Hyde." I think I would enjoy that very much. There's so little to see in the movie theatres these days, except at Oscar time. I'm not a great fan of animation. It's not cinema, it's cartoons.
What's interesting is that while "Dangerous to Men" premiered in 1920, "Old Wives for New" came out in 1918. I wonder why it was showing a movie that had premiered two years prior?
[Second-run showings are nothing new. - Dave]
Hey, they made a movie about the Drexel Women's Rifle Team!
The Avenue Grand
8 Big Acts Each Week
Pictures - Vaudeville
645 Pa. Ave S.E.
Doors Open at 6:30 P.M.Washington Post, Sep 17, 1910
Buys the Avenue Grand
Crandall Acquires Picture House in Pennsylvania Avenue
Henry M. Crandall, one of Washington's pioneer motion picture exhibitors, has acquired the Avenue Grand motion picture establishment, in Pennsylvania avenue, between Sixth and seventh streets southeast, and will reopen the theater in about two weeks.
The Avenue Grand is known as the largest motion picture theater here in a residential district. It has a seating capacity of more than 1,000, and is equipped with a balcony and a stage for straight theatrical productions.
Washington Post, Mar 26, 1916
Crandall's Avenue Grand Reopens
The reopening of the Avenue Grand under the management of Harry M. Crandall was welcomed by capacity audiences at all performances yesterday and Sunday. The theater has been thoroughly renovated and redecorated, and a gold screen and an efficient ventilation system has been installed. ...
Washington Post, Apr 18, 1916
Her career ended in 1929 when sound movies began; probably no coincidence. She died in 1987 at age 90. He survived the advent of sound but not his heart attack at age 48 in 1930.
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