The Howard Theatre
Theatre for the People
"Where Record Collections come to Life"
A vibrant past, an undetermined future
By: Brian Krist
The lights danced along the ivory keys of Duke Ellington's piano, the spotlight hit the sharkskin suits of the Temptations , the microphones caught the ecstatic screeches of James Brown , and the velvet curtains would always pull back to reveal some of the top names in entertainment for the better part of a century.
Now, on the cusp of the 100-year anniversary of the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., a community remembers the vibrant past, and looks to restore a cultural landmark for the future.
History
The Howard Theatre was the world's largest theatre managed by African Americans when it opened its' doors on August 22, 1910 in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. In the early years, the Howard Theatre featured vaudeville acts, live theatre, musicals and local talent shows. Over the course of a century, it developed into a cultural mecca for African-American performers of music and theatre.
By the 1930's, the Howard Theatre was home to the emerging genre of bee-bop and jazz music. Duke Ellington played the theatre's reopening night after the Great Depression . John Edward Hasse , a jazz historian and Ellington biographer, describes Ellington as D.C.'s "greatest native son." For Hasse, the high standards that the African American community had in Washington, D.C. were emblematic of Ellington's demeanor, and performance style. Ellington himself, saw the Howard Theatre as a pillar of the community:
-Duke Ellington
In November of 2008, the Kennedy Center hosted a series of events on the history of jazz in Washington, D.C. Duke Ellington and the Howard Theatre were an integral part of the genre's development, and the city itself. Kendrick Smith, a documentary filmmaker who made a biographical film on Ellington, describes the impeccable nature of Ellington in a panel discussion following a screening, "There were not any pictures of Duke Ellington that weren't elegant, honestly there weren't!"
Ellington became a metaphor for achievement during the 1930s and 1940s in the African American community of Washington, D.C. It was during the 1940s that "amateur night" was instituted at the Howard Theater , which shined a light on talents like Ella Fitzgerald , Pearl Bailey , and Billy Eckstine . The success of the Howard Theatre during this period inspired an East Coast circuit of African American theatres, including the Apollo in Harlem, The Uptown in Philadelphia, and the Royal in Baltimore.
The 1950s brought a significant change to the Howard Theatre , the music changed from jazz to R&B and rock and roll; the clientele switched from middle class adults to teenagers. It was during this era that Reuben Jackson , a musical archivist with the Smithsonian Institute and long time D.C. resident, first experienced the Howard Theatre , "The Howard Theatre was a place where magic happened, your record collections came to life."
The first show that Jackson saw at the Howard Theatre was the Temptations with his older brother. Jackson remembers being slightly obsessed with the ritualistic aspects of performance: "the lights, the steps, the sharkskin suits, it was like drinking six cups of espresso."
The 1960s were a turbulent time for the country at large, and brought desegregation, and ultimately instability to the strong African American community in the U Street corridor . This peaked during the riots that followed the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Howard Theatre never re-captured its' illustrious stature after it shuttered its doors in 1970.
Since then, the efforts to restore the Howard Theatre have been in fits and starts for nearly four decades, but a new revitalization is underway, incorporating the community, its' history, and the possibility for a renewed Howard Theatre for the next generation.
Restoration
In 2008, the Ellis Development Group signed a 75-year lease with the District of Columbia to rehabilitate the historic theatre. The group is also developing mixed-use property near the Theatre for Radio One, Inc. The group started a non-profit group, the Howard Theatre Restoration, Inc. to help raise funds for the restoration efforts.
Charlotte Fox, the Executive Director of the Howard Theatre Restoration, Inc., helps coordinate the fundraising events that fuel the revitalization efforts. In 2007, the group co-hosted an oral history event with the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., the National Music Center , Shaw Main Streets , and WPFW ; where members of the community recalled their Howard Theatre experiences. Fox describes the event, "there is an emotional tie that lives on in each persons memory, it {the theatre} is where they saw the icons of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues perform."
While the Ellis Development group will revitalize the property, the question of a tenant still remains. Davey Yarborough , an educator at the Ellington School of Music, a musician, and long-time D.C. resident, said during a panel discussion at the Kennedy Center that he would like to see the space used as a theater and performance space that continues the legacy of the theatre. Yarborough heads the Washington Jazz Arts Institute (WJAI) and would like the Howard Theatre as a home for this educational and cultural vehicle. Yarborough remembers "cutting his teeth" in the basement of the Howard Theatre with the big band of Charlie Hampton.
This vision of the Howard Theatre meshes well with that of John Edward Hasse , who would like to see the Howard Theatre enshrined as the Duke Ellington National Historical Site, in conjunction with the National Park Service (NPS) . Similar to the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, the site would have co-ownership with the NPS and would feature exhibitions, performances, and what Hasse describes as "informances," a combination of the performance and the museum experience.
The combined visions of the Howard Theatre Restoration, Inc., musical historians like Mr. Hasse, educators and musicians like Mr. Yaraborough , and the community at large is working to avoid what Mr. Reuben Jackson describes as the "paradox of the trapped butterfly." The history of the Howard Theatre is such a rich tapestry of performance, that you don’t want it confined in a museum setting, the Plexiglas creating a barrier between an earlier community and the next generation.
It remains to be seen whether the money will be raised to restore the theatre in time for the 2010 anniversary, or who the tenant would be, but everyone had a strong opinion on who should play the opening night of the newly renovated Howard Theatre . "The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra," said Mr. Hasse, peppered with a few key alumni from Ellington’s band, "Clark Terry, and a few other guest appearances." Mr. Jackson had another thought, " Chuck Brown, he is like a phoenix."