the Carver Theater building

Then:


Now:


Future?:


The Team:


Inside Out:


old photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives, rendering from the Good Samaritan Foundation, other photos by DG-rad

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Then:

"This movie house, located in the Anacostia area of Washington, stood on Nichols Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue) near Talbert Street.

It opened in 1948 and sat just over 500. The Carver was designed in Streamline Moderne style by local architect John J. Zink, best known for his Senator Theatre in Baltimore, and the Uptown Theatre in Washington. Closed during the 60s, the Carver became the first home of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in 1967."

Source: Cinema Treasures

Now:

After seven years of delays, it looks like maybe the renovation of the Carver Theater into a student training center for the Good Samaritan Foundation might actually be underway. While no significant work has been done recently, the site has been cleaned up and one person I spoke with on the street said that workers have been there every day for the past couple weeks.

The Washington City Paper has a very good article on the current state of the theater, with history about the long delays and broken promises surrounding it.

I'm especially glad that Muse Architects is designing this project, as they have a history of context-sensitive and very high quality work throughout the region.