Lincoln Theatre — Attraction in Washington

One of the few remaining historic theaters in Washington DC, a city with a rich legacy of theater life. The Lincoln is sort of a medium sized theater. It was considered for demolition at one time, which would have been barely noticed here in the U street corridor at a time when the area was still pretty depressed since the riots of 1969. Today, U street is experiencing a renaissance and is hopping until the wee hours.

I attended the Lincoln grand reopening, for an event I can't recall at the moment, probably a jazz show. The booking of shows for the first couple years or so was badly managed with some great shows occasionally, but dark most of the time. It seemed basically a rental space for producers to host a music or corporate event. IMP picked up the management and they've done a great job booking the venue with a variety of different types of shows.

It's a beautiful theater, not as beautiful as the Warner Theatre, but pretty enough.

The Lincoln is a seated venue and most of the shows are sold with specific seat assignments. Some shows are general admission seated. People start lining up about an hour or so before the door time, but in my experience, there's still plenty opportunity to get a good seat even when the line extends down the alley. I prefer the GA anyway and always end up with a better seat than if I buy on the day tickets are released.

One complaint is that the speakers are mounted way high directly in the center which can separate the sound from the performers. They are augmented by speakers on each side sitting directly on the stage like the old days.

In case you did not know, the Lincoln is right next to the legendary Ben's Chili Bowl. People rave about this chili dog place, but I'm not a huge fan myself. I do recommend you try it at least once so you can say you did. Also check out the large mural by Anekin Udofia, a local artist who likes...

Literally right across the street from the metro (take the 13th st. exit), so that is nice but really not much parking anywhere nearby other than Reeves Center Garage, which is never available on SpotHero). Not as many great eating options within a few blocks as you would expect (pizza, hot dog joint) but they are slowly getting more with some Ethiopian and Mexican new since last time I was there. All the seats have great sight lines as the theater is small, but the balcony is definitely pretty far back from the stage, doesn't overhang very much over the floor seats. Speaking of floor seats (center orchestra near stage), they have OK leg room but dang if these aren't the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE seats we have sat in - they are incredibly narrow (gonna be rubbing shoulders on both sides) and shallow (prepare for back ache and leg ache). For GA shows, the line is normally all the way down the alley when the doors open, but even at the back of the line if you are there when they open, you will get a good seat. The staff have always been friendly. There are only one set of small restrooms right at the entry, which have long lines once the venue fills up. Food options are limited to $5 healthy size bags of popcorn and $6 Lincoln logs (delicious but overpriced chocolate bakery swiss cake roll). A can of beer is criminally high at $12 (after their fees but before any tip) and they have cocktails as well.....and everyone seems to wait in long lines for these 2 drink stands in the lobby when the lines are mostly empty at the bar in the back of the orchestra inside the theatre. They don't try and blow you away with the sound volume, which I greatly appreciate (but still bring my earplugs so I can keep enjoying concerts). Our show started 20 minutes late, I believe because of the long bar lines...

I went to a holiday Drag Show that was amazing! Had a great time! The theater was sold out! It was super hot in there. There's no parking lot on site. You probably wouldn't find a parking spot because so many restaurants and clubs are on this street. It's a VERY busy neighborhood. It's DC and that's to be expected. The closest parking garage is the U Street Garage, 2.5 blocks away and costs 20 bucks. There must be a trend of dark, dank, smelly parking garages in the Baltimore/DC area, lol. There was broken glass, broken concrete and oddly positioned parking spots. It smelled like a port-a-john and the attendants were really cranky senior citizens. To get to the theater, you will have to step around 😉 the people that are asleep on the ground. Spotted a few pimps and working girls too. A plus is that We, The Pizza is mid point of the theater and parking lot. It's great pizza! If you are going to this theater, I recommend parking at the park and ride lot, then grab an Uber or Lyft to avoid the horrific traffic. People will u-turn with no notice, right in front of you at a stop light. Them there are the people that double park to grab food! Unless I can buy a ticket and sit in the smaller side balconies, I won't go back to this venue. I couldn't see the stage unless I held my phone above the heads of the people in front of me!! SMH, my arms were in muscle fatigue by the end...