Byrd on the road to restoration

posted by Michael Zoldessy on June 11, 2007 at 7:40 am

RICHMOND, VA — The Byrd Theatre Foundation has finally secured a deal that gives control over the namesake theatre. Now the fight to restore the building to its former luster begins.

Luckily for Byrd fans, the Warren heirs finally agreed on a date and a price. On May 31, the Foundation announced that its persistence (and $1.2 million) had paid off as the organization was the proud new owner of The Byrd.

However, now that the organization holds ownership of the building, the real work can begin, said Bertie Selvey, the other co-vice president of the Foundation and president of Byrd Watchers, a separately formed entity of community volunteers that raises money and awareness for preservation of The Byrd.

“This has been a long struggle,” Selvey said. “When I came in here and found out what hadn’t been going on, I realized that if we didn’t do something we would lose it. But we are putting all that behind us and we are jumping ahead. Now we have a big job…and the first thing we need is the new roof so we can get rid of those 21 buckets up there.”

To read more, go to Richmond.com.

Theaters in this post

• Byrd Theatre