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After 82 years, Monarch Novelties in Northwest D.C. will close its doors on Saturday for the final time.
The Robinson family opened Monarch Novelties at 1331 14th St. NW in 1943.
It was part party supply store, part souvenir shop and part carnival supply store, and saw 21 different inaugurations — from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s last to President Donald Trump’s second.
Doug Robinson ran the store for the last two decades, but in the last few months reached out to Drew Mitchell, the owner of the next-door building who serves as the president of the D.C.-based branding and design agency Fathom Creative, about buying the building.
Mitchell said Robinson trusted that he would incorporate some of the store’s artifacts into the building’s new design, and he did just that by adding photos and signs into the new event space.
On Saturday, Mitchell is opening the doors of Monarch Novelties for one last time. From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., you can be transported back to when John F. Kennedy was running against Richard Nixon for president.
There are buttons for both former presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson, and countless other names — plus, vintage carnival games and prizes. You’ll also have the chance to pick up party favors for every holiday you can imagine (and a couple you’ve forgotten about).
Mitchell is donating the proceeds to the Logan Circle Community Association and The National Foundation for Carnival Heritage Center.
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