The theater closed in 1980, but after renovations and being declared a National Historic Landmark, it reopened in 2012. The Howard also hosted vaudeville acts, musicals, community programs, and speakers like Booker T. Ella Fitzgerald’s ascent to stardom began here as well, where she participated in an amateur night. In fact, Ellington’s career started with him winning band contests at the Howard.
Since then, the Howard has hosted performers ranging from Louis Armstrong to Kendrick Lamar, Billie Holliday to Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole to James Brown, and of course The Duke himself. The Howard is regarded as the first Black theater in America - it was founded in 1910 to welcome Black patrons who were not allowed in other venues in the city. Step past “Encore,” a statue of U Street hometown hero Duke Ellington, and enter the Howard Theatre. “The Torch” is located in the Ben Ali Way alley - watch out for cars.ġ213 U St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
The restaurant is open seven days a week. The Ali family still runs Ben’s Chili Bowl. It survived the riots that followed King’s assassination partly because it was given special dispensation to stay open, on the request of SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael, to serve police and protestors alike. The result is named “The Torch,” referring to the lantern Harriet Tubman is shining on the rest of the luminaries, including Dave Chapelle, Prince, and Muhammad Ali.įounded in 1958 by Ben Ali (no relation to Muhammad) and his then-fiance Virginia, Ben’s Chili Bowl quickly became a neighborhood fixture and has served guests ranging from Obama to Martin Luther King Jr. Painted in 2017 by local Aniekan Udofia, the mural depicts figures chosen through a public voting process in which more than 30,000 people participated. There’s also a gorgeous mural just outside the restaurant honoring famous Black Americans, many with ties to the District. There’s the food, especially the signature “half-smoke,” a sausage that’s half-pork and half-beef, served in a hot dog bun and topped with Ben’s spicy chili sauce. Ben’s Chili Bowl is a U Street institution for many reasons.
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