| AFI Silver | |
|---|---|
 The theater in 2005 | |
  Location within Maryland | |
| General information | |
| Status | Operating |
| Type | Theater |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Address | 8633 Colesville Road |
| Town or city | Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°59′48″N 77°01′39″W / 38.9967°N 77.0276°W |
| Completed | 1938 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | John Eberson |
| Other information | |
| Seating type | Stadium in Smaller Theaters Flat in Large Theater with Free Premium Seating in back (Awarded on a first come first served basis) |
| Seating capacity | 400, 200, and 75 |
| Website | |
| www | |
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center (commonly called as AFI Silver) is a three-screen movie theater complex in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, north of Washington, D.C.[1] It is operated by the American Film Institute.
It occupies the former home of the 1,100-seat Silver Theatre, whose 1938 building was designed by movie palace architect John Eberson.[2] The Silver Theatre closed in 1985, and the building stood empty until 2001, when restoration began.[3]
Today[when?], the theater shows "upward of 600 movies per year" including "first-run features, classics, obscure archival prints, rarities from global cinema and the odd locally made one-off", The Washington Post wrote in 2017.[4]
Its main auditorium hosts the DC Metro area's third-largest commercial movie theater screen, and the second-largest commercial movie theater screen outside of the Smithsonian Institution after the Uptown Theater in Cleveland Park.
From 2003 to 2022, the theater hosted an annual documentary festival called Silverdocs and then AFI Docs.[5]
- ^ McCoy, Jerry A. (April 2003). "Silver Spring: Then & Again – The Silver Theatre". Silver Spring Historical Society. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023.
- ^ "About". AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ Perri, Lynne (April 2, 2003). "A sterling place for film history" (PDF). USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2003.
- ^ Hornaday, Ann (April 8, 2023). "At AFI Silver Theatre, programming director Todd Hitchcock keeps a sprawling menu fresh". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ Hornaday, Ann (February 3, 2022). "AFI Docs is hitting pause on programming". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2023.