page_title: Park View (Washington, D.C.)
section_title: York Theater
hierarchical_section_title: Park View (Washington, D.C.) / History / Architectural and cultural sites of interest / York Theater
caption_attribution_description: English: The York Theater, located at 3635-3641 Georgia Avenue, shortly after it was completed ca. 1920
context_page_description: Park View is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C., immediately north of Howard University.
  The name of the neighborhood comes from its views east over the campus of the Old Soldiers' Home. At the time Park View was developed, and well into the 1960s, the Home's grounds were open to the public as a park. Those grounds were a designed urban landscape, including pedestrian paths and ponds, modeled along the principles of New York City's Central Park. Indeed, when the Home's campus was developed into a public park in the later 1880s, it often was compared to Central Park.
  A solidly residential community, Park View is a quiet corner of the city, one in which the trend toward gentrification has only recently found a foothold. Its one commercial corridor, Georgia Avenue, has its share of liquor stores and empty store fronts, but increasing interest in the corridor has attracted other goods and services to the area. The revitalization of the corridor began with the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, founded in 2004, and Temperance Hall in 2006.
context_section_description: The York Theater, located at 3635–3641 Georgia Avenue, was designed by Reginald W. Geare as one of Harry Crandall's chain of theaters. Kennedy Brothers were hired as the builders, and it was one of the last two structures built by Kennedy in the Princeton Heights development. While newspaper accounts reported the theater to cost $100,000 to build, the estimate on the building permit valued the project at $50,000. The front of the structure was constructed of tapestry brick and trimmed with white stone and marble. Inside, the proscenium hangings were of rich gold velour enlivened with blue medallions and white figures in relief. Newspaper accounts also described the lighting system as unique.
  The structure was in use as a theater as late as May 1954. It was purchased by the National Evangelistic Center in May 1957 and has been used as a church since them. Today, it is home of the Fishermen of Men Church.
caption: The York Theater at night, photographed ca. 1920
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