Byrd Theatre

Byrd Theatre 1941

Byrd Theatre 2016

Site Name: Byrd Theatre

Date of Construction: 1928

Reason for Construction: Built to be a theatre where movies would be shown. One of the Nation’s Grand Movie Palaces.

Site History: The Byrd Theatre, named after Richmond founder WIlliam Byrd, was built by Charles Somma and Walter Coulter during the height of filmography in Richmond. It was built to play both movies with sound and silent movies with their Mighty Wurlitzer Organ accompanying for the sound; however, silent movies quickly became rather obsolete. In spite of this, the Byrd Theatre continued to put on organ performances and still does so to this day on the original Mighty Wurlitzer. Today the Byrd Theatre remains one of the most iconic and popular Richmond attractions and continues to play second-run movies at very low costs.

Area History: Byrd Theatre is located along Cary Street in the Carytown district of Richmond. The Cary Street before the theatre was a largely commercial area of Richmond with many shops and a few residential houses; however, when the Byrd Theatre was built it gained greater prominence, namely with the construction of the Cary Court shopping center in 1938: the first strip mall in Richmond. After these two major developments, the surrounding area quickly grew into one of the biggest commercial areas in Richmond.

What about the site has changed? Nearly nothing about the site has changed. Despite its continued use both as a regular movie theater and for events such as the French Film Festival, the Byrd Theatre Foundation (a non-profit organization that purchased the theatre in 2007) has attempted to preserve the theatre exactly how it was in 1928. The seats, the organ, the foundation and building are all the same, they even use the old projector occasionally for showing short intros to films. The original projector has been replaced with newer projectors to be able to actually play more recent films and keep up with film expectations.

What about the surrounding area has changed? The surrounding area has also changed little in terms of the buildings and its purpose, it is still a lively and successful commercial area. The surrounding stores and shops have grown and changed but have retained most of their original structures, despite more modern businesses and many remodelings, from exterior paint jobs to interior furniture replacement.

Reflection: Not being from Richmond and only having been to the Byrd Theatre once in my life, it was very interesting to learn about how well preserved and maintained this site was despite its continued use. Before I had thought that most all historic sites that were in original condition were more or less museums or that if the site was still used then it was mostly redone with modern luxuries. This has been a very fascinating investigation. (I also relearned that I hate research)

Sources:

Lohmann, Bill. “Saving the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Byrd Theatre.” Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 22, 2014. http://www.richmond.com/news/local/columnists -blogs/saving-the-mighty-wurlitzer-at-the-byrd-theatre/article_41806c21-0942-5d19-9207-e81842765085.html.

Calos, Katherine. “Byrd Theatre turns down offer of Cannes seats.” Richmond Times-Dispatch. May 8, 2014. http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/article _db102dbd-04da-52eb-95a2-7d0d0a36a271.html.

“History.” The Byrd Theatre. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://byrdtheatre.com/restoration -history-byrd-theatre/.

“Byrd Theatre History.” The Byrd Theatre. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://byrdtheatre.com/history/.

Weidner, Marisa. “Carytown, Then and Now.” The Valentine. Last modified March 31, 2014. http://thevalentine.org/blog/carytown_then_and_now#.

Byrd Theatre 1941. Dementi Studio. http://www.dementi.com/richmond-va-historic-photos.

Kemmerly, William F. Byrd Theatre 2016. 2016, Digital Photograph.

“Byrd Theatre 1979 Final Nomination.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/ 127-0287_Byrd_Theater_1979_Final_Nomination.pdf.

“Cary Street Park and Shop Center 2001 Final Nomination.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/ Cities/Richmond/127-0438_Cary_Street_Park_and_Shop_Center_2001_Final_Nomination.pdf.

Author: Fritz Kemmerly