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What Did Columbia Heights Look Like After the 1968 Riots?

A series of photos shows Columbia Heights in the immediate aftermath of the 1968 riots. The Tivoli Theater and the commercial blocks on 14th Street had burned.

Posted Updated 2 min read

Here is a series of amazing photos that we came across on Flickr showing the 1968 riots in D.C. We’ve posted some stuff on the riots in the past, like this film clip, and these photos.

Tivoli Theater

Here is a photo showing the Tivoli Theater after the riots.

Columbia Heights Tivoli Theater commercial
Columbia Heights Tivoli Theater commercial

Across from the theater

This is the building across from the Tivoli Theater.

14th Street riot aftermath
14th Street riot aftermath

Down 14th St. NW

You’re looking down 14th St. in this photo, standing on the west side of the street.

14th St. in Columbia Heights
14th St. in Columbia Heights

14th and Kenyon

This is 14th and Kenyon, the epicenter of the Columbia Heights renaissance today.

14th and Kenyon
14th and Kenyon

14th and Columbia

Below is a shot of the building on the northwest corner of 14th and Columbia, where the 7-Eleven is today.

14th and Columbia
14th and Columbia

We have a lot of cool stuff posted about Columbia Heights. Make sure you check them out. At Thomas Circle, Luther Place Memorial Church kept its doors open for three days and sheltered more than 10,000 displaced residents. The riots also transformed the lower stretch of 14th Street NW, which is a whole other story.

You have to check out this guy’s Flickr album from the riots. They’re really incredible. He also has a ton of amazing old photos that you should check out.

Source: Posthumous DCC

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