Local Digest

MARYLAND

Fire destroys historic theater

A three-alarm fire that started about 2:30 Saturday morning south of Montgomery County's Langley Park Shopping Center destroyed a historic movie theater that had been converted to a shoe and clothing store.

The damage to the Allen Theater, at 6822 New Hampshire Ave., was so extensive that it might be impossible for investigators to determine what caused the fire, said Scott Graham, assistant chief of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

About 120 firefighters from the Montgomery and Prince George's County fire departments went to the scene Saturday morning. The fire was declared under control by 5:45 a.m., said Graham, but firefighters remained until afternoon to demolish unstable walls and put out hot spots smoldering beneath the fallen roof.

The fire did not damage neighboring buildings. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The theater opened in 1951 with a showing of "At War with the Army," a comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

"It's the handsomest house I've ever built," owner and D.C.-area theater magnate Sidney Lust said at the time.

-- Emma Brown

2 homicides in Hyattsville

Prince George's County police are investigating two homicides that occurred hours apart and within a few blocks of each other in the West Hyattsville area.

At 10:18 p.m. Friday, officers responding to reports of a shooting in the 2500 block of Queens Chapel Road found Jose A. Benitez, 39, who lived on the block, police said.