Media Contact:  John Lisle, (202) 671-2004

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host an informational meeting on Monday, March 9, 2009, to update the public on the major streetscape improvements planned around the historic Howard Theater.

The Howard Theater, located at 620 T Street, NW, in the Shaw neighborhood, was the nation’s first full-sized theater for African-American audiences and entertainers. It opened in 1910 and hosted many famous performers including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and the Temptations before closing in the 1970s.

This District now plans to renovate and reopen the Howard Theater and in conjunction with that effort DDOT is moving forward with a streetscape project on the streets surrounding the Theater:

• 7th Street, NW between N Street and Florida Avenue: Repaving of the roadway, reconstruction of the sidewalks, upgrading street lights and traffic signals, landscape improvements.
  
  
• T Street, NW between 7th Street and Florida Avenue: Reconstruction of the roadway and sidewalks, upgrading street lights and traffic sidewalks, landscape improvements, upgrading of water main and storm water drainage.
  
  
• Wiltberger Street, NW between T and S Streets: Reconstruction of the roadway, upgrading water main and storm water drainage.

This project is part of the Great Streets Initiative in the Georgia Avenue and 7th Street Corridor. At the March 9 meeting, the project engineers will present their 65 percent design plans and solicit feedback and comments from the community.

Meeting Information:

What		Informational Meeting on Howard Theater Area Project
When		Monday March 9, 2009, 6:30-8:30 pm
Where		DC Housing Finance Agency Auditorium 815 Florida Avenue, NW

The DC Housing Finance Agency is located near the intersection of Florida Avenue and 9th Street, NW.  It is near the Shaw-Howard University and U Street /African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metrorail Stations on the Green and Yellow lines, and is also accessible on the 90, 92 and 93 Metrobus routes.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs, and services on the basis of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation) please Hayat Kelil-Brown at (202) 671-4549 or by email at Hayat.Kelil-Brown@dc.gov seven days in advance of the meeting. These services will be provided free of charge.