The new 450-capacity music venue Atlantis by I.M.P. located next to 9:30 Club in Washington, DC offers an intimate concert space that pays homage to 9:30 Club’s original location at 930 F Street NW. 

Atlantis’ dramatically lit façade, which features a ghosted scrim of perforated metal panels and the architectural ornament of the F Street façade attached in a playful assembly, sets the tone for the unveiling of the original club’s history within. Drawing guests into the venue, the design of the hallway leading to the performance area features light fixtures, archways, paint colors, and trim moldings that take visitors back to the legendary venue. The cast iron columns that dominated the F Street location are recreated with ‘ghost columns’ of light beams shining down to four bronze discs on a resurrected original flooring pattern in the exact locations of the original venue. The second-floor balcony offers a raised vantage point for guests to enjoy enhanced site-lines for shows and fully experience the atmosphere reminiscent of the original club. 

Additional features of the new venue include a rooftop terrace, multiple bars and restrooms, a connecting doorway to 9:30 Club allowing to expand the capacity of the existing popular music venue, and three well-appointed dressing rooms for performers.

“It was important to keep the essence of the original club, while also creating a new venue that would compete in the contemporary market for performance spaces of this size,” explains Christopher Peli, Senior Job Captain, CORE architecture + design. “Our close collaboration with I.M.P. and access to their archives with video footage and photography of the legendary venue significantly aided in the club’s innovative reproduction to deliver the new Atlantis.”

Photography: Ron Ngiam