I've made a couple other photographs of the Columbia Road Discount Center a while back and, Curren, a friend and native of D.C. commented on them. It turns out its Deco overhang was once protected moviegoers from rain while they waited in line for their tickets. She said from 1951 to 1987 the building was a theater. Curren said in the early 80's the theater hosted such musical greats as U2, REM, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Judas Priest, the Police, Minor Threat, the Ramones and more. She also said she remembers going there to see Purple Rain with her mom when she was young. I have a similar memory of seeing Purple Rain with my Mom, only it was a drive-in theater in Orange County, CA. The very same drive-in that I saw Rambo II and Top Secret in a double feature.
I had my first studio lighting class tonight. I know I'm going to love it. One thing I wasn't expecting was that it is strictly a film class ... back to the darkroom. I was hoping I could avoid was the cost of film and photo paper. Aside from the benefits of learning studio lighting this class will also be my introduction to the 4x5 large format camera.
