Howard Theatre: History in the Making - Again
Restoration of the historic theater is set to begin
By MARK STEPHENS
Listen closely and you can still hear the near-perfect voice of Ella Fitzgerald echo in the halls.
The keystrokes of Duke Ellington's piano resonate in the rubble.
A look out from the stage reveals the faces in the crowd -- some young, some old and almost all brown.
One hundred years ago, The Howard Theatre opened in D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood, becoming the first full-sized threater built for black audiences. It attracted the best in black talent.
"You know them," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. "Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Shirley Horne, Redd Foxx himself, even Moms Mabley. Such talent could not be suppressed. It had to find a home. That home was The Howard."
The historic theater flourished until the late 1960's, but because of desegregation and the 1968 riots, The Howard's attendance began to decline. It closed its doors in 1970, was reopened in 1975, then closed again just weeks later. It was only used sprodically through the early-1980s and sat shuttered and in a state of disrepair for years afterwards. CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE
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