Opened in 1924 as the Earle Theatre, this venue has a story similar to that of many early 20th century entertainment houses. In its early years, vaudeville and silent movies were the main attractions here, with productions including live orchestras and even a dancing group called the Roxyettes. In 1945 the theater switched to exclusively motion pictures, and soon after changed its name to Warner Theatre to reflect the ownership of Harry Warner, one of Hollywood’s famed Warner Brothers. It remained a movie house until the early 1970s, when much of downtown Washington began to slide into disrepair.

From the mid-1970s through the ‘80s, the Warner Theatre featured musical acts of all kinds (almost entirely rock and popular music) and touring plays. In 1989 the Theatre closed for renovations, reopening in 1992 with a performance by Frank Sinatra (in his last D.C. appearance) and Shirley MacLaine. Today the Warner exists as it was at the beginning: a beautiful and ornate auditorium featuring a variety of entertainment, including dance, theater, film and music.