Warner Theatre. Source: Library of Congress, 1925.

The Warner Theatre and Office Building, located in downtown Washington, was designed in 1924 as a mixed-use building by the eminent Detroit theater designer, C. Howard Crane.

Crane's firm designed over 325 theaters in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain during the "movie palace" era of the early 20th century.

This project involved the restoration and rehabilitation of the exterior as well as the interior theater spaces, including the lobby, auditorium, and balcony, to the plans of Shalom Baranes Associates, the restoration architects, and the construction of an addition designed by Pei Cobb Freed and Partners.

Serving as project Architectural Historians/Preservation Consultants, EHT Traceries was responsible for the writing of the Historic American Buildings Survey Report, the Historic Structures Report, and the Historic Interiors Report.

The firm also provided design consultation and advised the developer, the Kaempfer Company, on the review processes.

The proposed designs required reviews by the Commission of Fine Arts and the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board, and because UDAG funds were used, the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

The theater re-opened in 1992 with rave reviews. In 1993, the Warner was named the District of Columbia Preservation League's Building of Year.