Old Town Theater
815 1/2 King Street,
Alexandria,
VA
22314
815 1/2 King Street,
Alexandria,
VA
22314
7 people
favorited this theater
Originally opened as the Richmond Theater in 1914, it was the first permanent theater constructed in Alexandria and screened silent movies and vaudeville. The owners reportedly operated a vaudeville theater on the first floor and a dance hall on the second floor until around 1932, and the dance floor was later replaced with a balcony.
The cinema was twinned in 1980, making the balcony a second screen, and re-opened as the Old Town 1-2.
The Old Town was closed in 1999, and was reopened on Valentine Day 2002, after renovations were completed bringing the bathrooms up to ADA approved code, replacing the seats to a comfortable level and adding lighting and sound systems. The screen was removed opening the stage for live plays and a comedy venue. In December 2002, the Old Town Theater was closed.
The Old Town Theater re-opened in February 2004 with “Gone With the Wind” and “Philadelphia Story”. It was closed in early-January 2012 and later that year the facade was being restored. It has now reopened as a live performance theater.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick, Sean Doerr
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
1983 Photo
1985 Photo
Here is a recent close-up view.
This is another 1985 photo.
heard on tonight’s news that the theater is closing this week due to low attendance and increased parking fees in Alexandria.
Theater website has disappeared but here was the history on it: The original permit to build, dated April 16, 1914, was for the purpose of “moving pictures, bowling alleys and billiards”, named the Richmond Theater, it was the first permanent theater constructed in Alexandria. The owners reportedly operated a vaudeville theater on the first floor and a dance hall on the second floor until around 1932. Around 1932, the theater closed for renovation, the second floor dance hall was removed, and a theater balcony constructed. The Richmond was used as a motion picture and vaudeville theater until sometime in the 1940s when vaudeville was phased out, and the theater was used exclusively for motion pictures. The Richmond operated as a motion picture theater until it closed in approximately 1972, when the city movie houses were failing to draw local residents. In 1976, the National Puppet Center applied for a special use permit to use for the performances and study of the puppet arts and it is not known how long the theater may have been used for this purpose. In 1980, the theater was renovated and re-opened as a double theater under a new name, the Old Town. The Old Town operated until October 1999 when it was again closed. On Valentines 2002, the Old Town was opened after renovations were completed bringing the bathrooms up to ADA approved code, bringing the balcony back, replacing the seats to a comfortable level and adding lighting and sound systems. The screen was removed opening the stage for live plays and a comedy venue. In December 2002, the theater was closed. The Old Town Theater has reopened as a multi entertainment center featuring all forms of the performing arts including film, theater, music and children shows.
Managing Partner
Roger Fons
And here was the theater rental info, including screen size:
Old Town Theater is available for:
Corporate Meetings / Business Meetings Conferences / Conventions Events and Parties Birthday Parties The Theater features:
A 400+ stadium seat venue High Definition projector 16' by 22' screen computer imagery DVD, VCR, & Cable Digital Surround Sound Remote internet access Microphones: Wireless & Stand The Theater’s Restaurant Serves:
400+ Lunch and Dinner buffets Beer and Wine on trays stablized in the seat’s cupholders Menu
According to Howard’s posts on February 4, 2012 this theatre has reopened.
Support for the Old Town Theatre Website
ABC 7 is stating the theater will become a vaudeville type ‘live’ theater.
The theatre’s status should be changed to “open”.
http://www.oldtowntheater1914.com/home.html