Earlier this month, the GALA Hispanic Theatre was hacked, losing over $250,000. D.C. thespians worried this could spell the end for the historic theater until Citibank returned the defrauding funds last week. But it’s not the first hiccup the old theater has faced.
GALA made its home in what was originally the Tivoli Theatre. It was built in Columbia Heights in 1924 by the famous Golden Age theater architect Thomas White Lamb.
It was originally supposed to be designed by Reginald Geare, who built the Knickerbocker Theatre in Adams Morgan. However, after a snowstorm in 1922 caused the roof to collapse, killing almost 100 people, he was quickly replaced.
The Tivoli, built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, was the most elegant movie house in D.C. It attracted everyone from First Lady Coolidge to D.C. socialites of the time.
First Lady Coolidge and Leona Baldwin at Tivoli Theatre to watch the comedy film Wild, Wild Susan and the short film Cold Turkey (1925) (Library of Congress)
The movie house closed down in 1976 due to a lack of funds and the deterioration of the neighborhood. However, it was restored and reopened in 2006 during the revitalization of Columbia Heights.
The theater is now home to the GALA Hispanic Theatre thatwhich hosts regular Spanish language performances, as well as Dave’s Hot Chicken and other retail.
