H Street Playhouse
|
Plymouth Theater
|
|
 |
|
 
|
|
| Location | 1365 H Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°54′7.43″N 76°59′11.23″W / 38.9020639°N 76.9864528°WCoordinates: 38°54′7.43″N 76°59′11.23″W / 38.9020639°N 76.9864528°W |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Upman and Adams |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 04000117 |
| Added to NRHP | March 3, 2004 |
The H Street Playhouse was a black-box theater and gallery located in the Atlas District, in Northeast Washington D.C. Home to resident companies Scena Theatre, Theater Alliance and Forum Theatre, the Playhouse also hosted African Continuum Theatre Company, Musefire, Landless Theater Company, Theater Blue, Journeymen Theater Company, Madcap Players, Solas Nua, Restoration Stage, Capitol Renaissance Theatre, and Barnstormers. After opening its doors in 2001, the H Street Playhouse, with Theater Alliance, was at the forefront of a movement to develop and revitalize the H Street commercial corridor.
The building was built in 1928 by William Oshinsky and leased to businesses or was vacant during his ownership of the property from construction to 1959.
The building was originally occupied by Sam's Garage and Moller Motors according to the 1928 Business Directory. There is no evidence that the building was custom built for their intended use. Evidence and circumstance suggests that the building was built speculatively to capitalize on the demand for automobiles and the significant growth and flux of the automobile sales industry. In June 1928, the Hupmobile distributor in DC was listed as Mott Motors, Inc. with sales and service at 1507 14th St., NW and Union Station Garage at 50 H St., NE. An article headlined as ' NEW HUPMOBILE IS IN BIG DEMAND' in the Washington Herald on Sunday July 15, 1928 stated:
The continued record-breaking demand for the new Hupmobile Century models is giving us one of the hardest jobs we have had in years in keeping our stock cars in shape to make deliveries,
said TT Mott, Washington distributor.
Our business has been on a steady increase since the first of last fall. We have kept a steady stream of letters and telegrams between here and Detroit to try and impress on the factory officials the serious need for new cars in Washington and adjacent territory.
This situation as well as the pressure exerted by competing car companies and models, such as the new Plymouth 4 (model Q) introduced in July 1928, most probably encouraged Mott to expand to the 1300 block of H Street, NE.
In 1929 and 1930, the building at 1365 H St, NE was occupied as a branch automobile showroom of Mott Motors, Inc., owned by Thomas T. Mott. The main showroom was located at 1512-1520 14th Street, NW, listed as a Hupmobile Dealership. Another Mott showroom was located at 1738 14th Street, NW. This was a short-lived venture at 1365 H St, NE that appears to have ceased in the early thirties. In 1930, Thomas T. Mott lived in Bethesda, MD. One other Hupmobile dealership located in Washington, DC was owned by Sterret and Fleming, located on Champlain Street at Kalorama Rd, NW and 1223 Connecticut Avenue, NW.
...
Wikipedia