If you aren’t following Chris Arnade, you should. His writing on American inequality and the built environment is insightful, and like me, he does a lot of walking and exploring, takes lots of pictures, and illustrates his work heavily. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Substack.

On a recent walk around Washington, D.C., Arnade posted this photo:

Chris Arnade 🐢 @Chris_arnade

Oh lord no. No no no. Why would you do such a thing?

January 7th 2022

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At first I thought he meant “why would you name a movie theater after a politician?” but he really meant “why would you turn a classic movie theater into a sandwich shop?”

So yeah, it’s a movie theater; no guesswork on this one. But it’s a well-preserved example of the old, one- or two-screen urban theaters that used to exist in pretty much every neighborhood and even in every small town.

The Senator Theater was built in 1942 and closed in 1989. It was the last operating movie theater east of the Anacostia River. There are still none operating today, though that may change.

Part of the building has been demolished, but the façade remains pretty much as it did when it was built. It’s always sad to see something like this, but it’s better than losing it completely. It’s almost like the building is in a deep sleep, waiting for the conditions to wake up again.

Check out the related reading links, both of which are other movie theaters. These structures are really just boxes with cool facades, so they’re actually quite adaptable, and many of them survive as other types of businesses.

Related Reading:

What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #6

What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #19

Take a look at that—the 40th entry in this series!

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