The Dunbar Theater

The Dunbar Theater is located on 7th Street at T Street. The Dunbar opened in 1921 as a 346 seat theater. It was designed by Isaiah T. Hatton in the earlier Southern Aid Society Building. From the time it opened, until it closed in 1960, it was a popular venue for live entertainment, including many legendary jazz and blues artists, such as Duke Ellington, who appeared on the Dunbar’s stage during the 1930s. The theater also showed movies on its single screen.

Though there have been several plans to restore and reuse the landmark Dunbar (which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986), none of them came to fruition. Currently there is a Wachovia operating out of the building.

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