When D.C. Cab opened thirty years ago this week, you could see the movie in eighteen area movie theaters. None of those theaters are still operating. Is this the curse of D.C. Cab?

Allen Theater, 6822 New Hampshire Avenue, Takoma Park, Md. Its single screen was split in 1985. The building was converted to retail in 1990, and in December 2009 a fire destroyed the remaining structure.

Aspen Hill, 13729 Connecticut Avenue, Wheaton, Md. Closed in 1985 after 1997. Now a CVS.

Embassy, 1907 Florida Avenue NW. The Embassy closed in 1998, and in 2000 reopened as the badly designed arthouse, two-screener Visions, which closed in 2004. In 2009 architects redesigned the space, taking out the awkward partition and turning it into the multi-use AED Globe Theater (see pictures here). But it’s no longer a venue for commercial screenings. The AED Globe Theater’s single tweet was generated for an Earth Day film screening in 2010.

Georgetown, 1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW. In the 1980s, this theater hosted a long run of Bob Guccione’s infamous Caligula, starring the late Peter O’Toole. The theater closed in 1986 and was gutted to make way for a jewelry store. Architect Robert Bell purchased the structure this fall and plans a mixed-use development.

Herndon Twin, 1086 Elden Street, Herndon, Va. The theater offered two screens in 1984. If you didn’t want to see D.C. Cab, the other option that week was the Clint Eastwood vehicle Sudden Impact. I can’t confirm the closing date, but I can’t find any listings for the theater after November 1996.

Hillside Drive-In, 5210 Marlboro Pike, Capitol Heights, Md. The Hillside operated from 1953 to 1988. Documentary filmmaker Jeff Krulik made a short video about the Hillside — watch “Scenes from the Last Drive-In” here.

Jerry Lewis Cinema, 5830 Silver Hill Road, District Heights, Md. The Legion of Honor-winning comedian once loaned his name to a movie theater franchise. The chain was meant to be a venue for family movies, but as a friend who used to work at the District Heights branch can attest, they ended up showing less family-friendly movies like Death Race 2000 and D.C. Cab.. Closed in 1988.

KB Congressional 5,1631 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. This multiplex did not have a long run, opening in 1981 and closing in 1993. An Ulta cosmetic and beauty supply shop is currently on the site of the theater.

MacArthur, 4859 MacArthur Boulevard NW. The MacArthur was split into three screens in 1982 — the last movie that ran on the theater’s single large screen was Raiders of the Lost Ark. The MacArthur was an arthouse-minded triplex, hosting a Jacques Tati festival in the mid-1980s and Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. The MacArthur finally bit the dust in 1997 and met the fate of many area theaters: It’s now a CVS.

NTI Buckingham, 235 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, Va. Closed in 1986. It’s now a post office.

NTI Dale Cinema, 4320 Dale Boulevard, Dale City, Va. Became the Freedom Fellowship Church in 2002. A church employee told me that the theater had been closed a few years by the time the church bought the property, estimating that the theater closed around 2000.

NTI Landover, Landover Mall. A six-screen theater later taken over by the Cineplex Odeon chain. I can’t confirm their closing date, but movie listings dry up after 1989. Landover Mall was closed in 2002 and was torn down in 2006.

The former Riverdale Plaza. Photo by Pat Padua

Riverdale Plaza (pictured), 5617 Riverdale Road, Riverdale, Md. Closed in 2001. The “Kingdom” on the marquee refers to the L.L. Cool J comedy Kingdom Come. The property is vacant and you wonder how much work it would take to make it an operating theater again. And with a Whole Foods planned for the area, would a renovated theater take off?

Rolling Valley, 9268 Old Keene Mill Road, Burke, Va. Operating between 1979 and 1984, its brief lifespan burned all the brighter for having showed D.C. Cab.

Roth’s Randolph, 4816 Boiling Brook Parkway, Rockville, Md. Closed in 1985.

Roth’s Tyson’s Corner 8, Tysons Corner Regional Center, McLean, Va. The old Tysons multiplex ended its run as a Loews and closed around 1998.

Showcase Beacon Mall, 6738 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Va. Closed in 1996, demolished along with the enclosed mall in 1997 to make way for a new strip mall.

Showcase Fair City 6, Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax, Va. Closed in the early 1990s, now an event space.

Theater listings from a display ad in the Washington Post weekend section, December 16, 1983. Addresses and closing information for many of these theaters comes from CinemaTreasures.org.