Senator Theater
The entrance pavilion is the only remaining piece of this cherished neighborhood theater.
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Designed by architect John J. Zink, K-B Theatres opened the Senator Theatre on February 19, 1942 with 946 available seats. The first film shown in the communal space was Alfred Hitchcock’s “Suspicion." The auditorium had large murals with classical scenes.
When the Senator closed in 1989, it had 880 seats and the second-largest movie screen in Washington D.C. (the title for largest screen was held by the Uptown Theatre). The District of Columbia Historic Preservation Board recommended that the Senator Theater be designated as an historic landmark, but facing the owners opposition, the designation excluded the auditorium.
After much controversy, tragically, the auditorium was demolished in 1990, leaving only the facade and lobby building. It now stands as a large and depressing tombstone that tells of a theater's fate.
DC Inventory: September 19, 1990
