THEARC
Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC ) is a 16.5-acre (67,000 m2), 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) combined cultural and social services campus in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. The campus, located at 1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE, consists of three connected buildings, playgrounds, basketball courts, and public space. In May 2007 THEARC won the Urban Land Institute's Award for Excellence [1] and was cited for its contribution to the community, response to societal needs, innovation, public/private partnership, and environmental protection and enhancement.
• Built by Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) [2] for $27 million on 110,000 square feet (10,000 m2) east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC’s Ward 8 Anacostia. BBAR is a nonprofit organization founded by William C. Smith & Co. [3] and formed to develop, construct and manage THEARC.
• Funding for building THEARC came entirely from charitable contributions by the Federal and District government, corporations, foundations and individuals. The Federal government has leased the land to BBAR for 99 years.
• THEARC is a key part of a revitalization of the area known as “East of the (Anacostia) River” in Washington, DC.
• THEARC provides underserved children and families of East of the River dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, recreation and other programs, including social services, mentoring, after school care and case management, as well as medical and dental care at substantially reduced cost or no cost at all.
• THEARC features a 365-seat Theater, a regulation size gymnasium, a computer lab, an art gallery, a library, a community conference center, state-of-the-art music, art and dance studios and other first-rate facilities.
Since its official opening, THEARC has served thousands of residents of the surrounding Southeast DC Community and has spurred community redevelopment. The state-of-the-art theater at THEARC is steadily booked for events such as community movie days & sing-alongs, art shows, graduations, professional and community dance and stage productions, concerts, master classes, fashion shows and meetings of community organizations including local public school administrators.
The only theater of any kind located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC, this 365-seat venue features a generous stage and professionally designed and installed sound and lighting systems that complement a full variety of productions. THEARC Theater's mission is to be an outstanding venue and vehicle for both cultural events and town hall meetings.
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