Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About

Theater

DC
Was Lisner Auditorium Really Desegregated in 1947?

Was Lisner Auditorium Really Desegregated in 1947?

02/17/2023 in DC by Meaghan Kacmarcik

In 1946, Washington, DC was on the precipice of a Civil Rights movement. One of the first tests of the city’s shifting beliefs came with the opening of the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium and its use for commercial theater performances. The first play put on at the theater, Joan of Lorraine, turned out to be a  experiment in the continuance of race-based discrimination policies. Was the swift public backlash to the segregation enforced by GW enough to tear down the artificial barriers between black and white Washingtonians at Lisner?

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Email

Read More

Maryland
How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

01/27/2023 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

As Washingtonians and Marylanders began to recover from the hardships of the Great Depression, movies and local theater were a great way to find some escape. In the late 1930s, outdoor theaters were beginning to spring up on the outskirts of the District, where they were especially popular in the summertime. Most of the new playhouses, though, were in Northern Virginia. Maryland lacked options... until organizers of a new theater project in Olney called in a favor from Ethel Barrymore.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Email

Read More

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (581)
  • Maryland (112)
  • Virginia (152)

Latest Posts

How a Taxidermist Helped Create the National Zoo and Save the Buffalo From Extinction

11/10/2023

How a Taxidermist Helped Create the National Zoo and Save the Buffalo From Extinction

"It is Well for Us, O Brother": the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society of Washington D.C.

11/03/2023

"It is Well for Us, O Brother": the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society of Washington D.C.

The Goatman of Prince George’s County

10/27/2023

The Goatman of Prince George’s County

Most Popular

How a Taxidermist Helped Create the National Zoo and Save the Buffalo From Extinction

11/10/2023

How a Taxidermist Helped Create the National Zoo and Save the Buffalo From Extinction

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Bonus Marchers

09/08/2014

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Bonus Marchers

How Union Station was Saved in the 1980s

11/12/2014

How Union Station was Saved in the 1980s

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonArtBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines