Tivoli Theatre – 14th Street at Park Road N.W., Washington, D.C.

The Tivoli Theatre was once one of the most opulent movie palaces in the region. Completed in 1924 at a cost of more than $1 million, it was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, a leading theater architect whose designs included the original Madison Square Garden. The Tivoli opened as a block-long, four-story Mediterranean Revival-style building with seating for more than 2,000, including the balcony. It was the largest theater in Washington.

In the 1920s, the Columbia Heights neighborhood was considered to be one of the most fashionable and desirable areas of Washington with dozens of fine shops, as well as a highly developed theater district. The opening of the Tivoli marked the peak of commercial success in Columbia Heights. At its opening, the Tivoli was dubbed "the Temple of the Arts." The Washington Post hailed it as a "magnificent addition to the real showplace of the District" and said the Tivoli was "an institution of which the entire city of Washington ought to be proud and ought to support."

During the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the neighborhood was burned and ransacked, but the Tivoli was left intact. As the neighborhood continued to deteriorate, business dwindled. In 1976, the theater was closed and boarded up. In the quarter century during which it lay vacant, the building suffered from neglect, extensive vandalism, and severe water damage due to a leaking roof.

Nonetheless, in 1985, the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After
over 25 years closure, the Tivoli benefited from a revitalization of the Columbia Heights neighborhood. In 2005, the Tivoli was reopened after an almost six year renovation. The Tivoli is now the home of GALA (Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos) Hispanic Theatre, a local non-profit committed to sharing Hispanic culture through the arts. GALA currently uses the former balcony and there is mixed retail and restaurant use in the rest of the building.