H Street Playhouse
- Year
- 1928
- Style
- Romanesque Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
- Collection
- romanesque revival
William Oshinsky built this Romanesque Revival building in 1928 in the Atlas District, not for any single tenant but speculatively, to cash in on the automobile industry's boom; the 1928 Business Directory lists its first occupants as Sam's Garage and Moller Motors. It spent decades as leased commercial space before reopening in 2001 as the H Street Playhouse, a black box theater and gallery that helped lead the revitalization of the H Street corridor until it closed in 2012.
the building
Built for cars, not for actors. There's no evidence the building was custom-designed for any particular use. It appears to have been built speculatively in 1928 to capture demand from the era's booming automobile sales industry, first leased out as Sam's Garage and Moller Motors.
A crowded theatrical roster. As the H Street Playhouse, the building was home to resident companies Scena Theatre, Theater Alliance, and Forum Theatre, and hosted a rotating cast of others, including African Continuum Theatre Company, Landless Theater Company, Solas Nua, and Barnstormers, before closing in 2012.
the style
The Romanesque Revival design was applied to what was, at the time, purely speculative commercial real estate built to serve the 1920s auto trade, decades before the building had any connection to theater.
More on Romanesque Revivalsignificance
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its 2001-2012 run as the H Street Playhouse is credited with helping lead the revitalization of the H Street commercial corridor.
nearby
- Engine Company No. 10 (Truck House No. 13; Trindad Firehouse)
- Atlas Performing Arts Center
- Old Engine Company No. 10
- Langston Terrace Dwellings
- Crummell, Alexander School
- East Capitol Street Car Barn (Metropolitan Railroad Company Car Barn)