The Howard Theatre: Hope restored
Thirty years after the closure of the historic concert hall, a $29 million renovation has transformed the Howard into a venue for the new age, but not without a few nods to its legendary past.
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Opened in 1910, the Howard Theatre at Seventh and T streets NW was the first large music venue in the nation for black audiences. Through the '60s, it thrived, hosting the most important musicians on the circuit, including Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes. But a variety of factors, including urban flight, desegregation and the D.C. riots in 1968 sliced into the theater's audience, and it closed for good in the early 1980s. Thirty years later, it has undergone a $29 million renovation that has restored the exterior to the way it looked in 1910.
Joseph Victor Stefanchik for The Washington Post /
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A theater, and hope, restored
On Monday night, Seventh and T streets NW will fill with the familiar bustle of concertgoers queueing up for a show. They’ll file through a glamorous marble lobby, perhaps pause at a long, illuminated bar and wait excitedly for the velvet curtains to part on a performance by breakout Washington rapper Wale. But it won’t be lost on anyone what they’re also here for: to see the Howard Theatre, once the nucleus of Washington’s Black Broadway, shine again.
How to get there, what to see
How to get there, where to park and what you’ll see at the majestic restored theater.
Nearby restaurants and bars
A renaissance already has begun in the Shaw, LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale neighborhoods that surround the Howard Theatre. Walk a few blocks in any direction and you’ll find several restaurants and bars, many opened in the past few years.
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