Loading AI tools
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chase's Theater and Riggs Building, also known as the Keith-Albee Theater and the Keith-Albee Building, was a historic building located at 1426 G Street and 615-627 15th Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the city's Downtown area.
Chase's Theater and Riggs Building | |
Location | 1426 G Street and 615-627 15th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°53′53.2″N 77°1′59.9″W |
Built | 1912 |
Architect | Jules Henri de Sibour |
Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
NRHP reference No. | 78003053 [1] |
Added to NRHP | September 7, 1978 |
The Beaux-Arts theater was originally designed by Jules Henri de Sibour, and built in 1912, for Plimpston B. Chase. He sold the theater to B.F. Keith in 1913.[2] It was a part of the B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit, which became a part of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum chain, and then RKO Pictures. William Howard Taft attended the opening in 1912, and Woodrow Wilson regularly attended. Entertainers included: Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Rudy Vallée, Laurel and Hardy, and ZaSu Pitts.
In 1956, RKO sold the building, to Morris Cafritz for $1.55 million. In 1959, he offered to sell the building to the city as a performing arts center, but the city would not assume the $1.5 million mortgage. The movie theater closed in 1978; it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In March 1978, the United States Commission of Fine Arts recommended saving the facade of the Keith-Albee Theater and National Metropolitan Bank.[3][4][5]
In 1979, the D.C. Superior Court halted demolition of the Keith Albee building,[6] but then allowed demolition of the interior.[7] The developer said he would preserve the historic facade of the Keith-Albee theater building, if he could demolish Rhodes' Tavern.[8]
It is now the Metropolitan Square office building.[9]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.