Existing comment:
The Biograph Theatre Mural Collage
The Biograph Theatre mural collage was put together over 18 months, mostly at night, by Allyn Johnson, a long-time employee of the late, lamented Georgetown repertory film house and close friend of owners Alan Rubin and Leonard Poryles. The images came from hundreds of classic (and not always classic) movie posters than the pioneering theater had accumulated since it opened in 1967. Measuring 24 feet by eight feet, it was finished in 1975 and installed in the hallway connecting the theater and its restrooms.
When the Biograph closed in 1996, Johnson, by then well established in the historic restoration business, removed the mural and transported it to his home in Northern Virginia, where it remained in storage until its own revival.
The Biograph opened and closed with the same double feature: Jean-Luc Godard's MASCULINE-FEMININE and Jean Renoir's A DAY IN THE COUNTRY. Closing night also featured PINK FLAMINGOS at 11:00 pm, a nod to the midnight movies and John Waters films that were a staple of Biograph programming. |