Republic Theatre acetate film photonegative

Object Details

Photographer: Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964
Names: Republic Theatre (Washington, D.C.); Barrymore, John, 1882-1942
Subseries Creator: Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.); Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994; Custom Craft; Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964; Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005

Topic: Segregation; Motion picture theaters -- 1930-1950 -- Washington (D.C.); Theaters -- 1930-1940

See more items in: Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives; Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives

Sponsor: The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Biographical / Historical: The Republic Theatre opened on 30 May 1921 at 1333 U St., N.W., Washington, D.C.,a block west of the Lincoln Theatre. Film Daily Yearbooks listed it as a "Negro" theater. The building was designed by Phillip M. Julien. The exterior had a Spanish tile roof above the facade. The Republic was closed in 1976 and was later demolished to make way for the new Metro subway system. (Bryan Krefft and Ken Roe, "Cinema Treasures," noted 9 July 2010 at http://cinematreasures.org/theater/20564/)

Subseries Citation: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution

Subseries Rights: When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Genre/Form: Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film

Scope and Contents: Large posters above the marquee level advertise "Romeo and Juliet" (1936) with Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and John Barrymore,and "Top of the Town" (1937).

Subseries Restrictions: Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.