I’m sorry to report that the Westhampton Theater building was torn down about six months ago. The developer said something about preserving the façade of the building, but there’s nothing left to preserve now. It’s sad, it was a lovely old art deco building and a local landmark. It was in excellent condition right up until the last.
The Westhampton closed last night (March 20, 2016). There was no advance notice, although it was well known that it would close sometime this year.
I saw a lot of good movies there over the past 45 years, but recently attendance had dropped. There is a lot of competition these days for the entertainment dollar and it is a little surprising that this theater lasted for 78 years. There are a lot of good memories wrapped up in the place and I’ll miss it!
That is sad news, there have been rumors it would close for several years. But it is still open at the moment and I urge anyone who hasn’t been there to go and check it out before it closes. There are some wonderful architectural details inside.
This theater has anchored this vibrant neighborhood for over 75 years and it will be sorely missed.
Yes, I’ve look for a photo of it but no luck thus far. The manager you mentioned was Miss Wilma or Wilmer or something like that. Wish I could recall her full name. Some of us unruly teenagers gave her a fit back in the 60s. Wish she was still around so I could apologize.
I’m not exactly sure when it closed, 1967 could be right. It was still open in 1966 when I finished High School at Waverly.
The building was vacant for years but was torn down a long time ago. There is a public parking lot on the site.
I’m not sure how the photo got there. In the background is the Wine shop at 4009 MacArthur Ave. According to “Celebrate Richmond Theater” by Kathrine Fuller-Seeley, the Ginter was at 4011 Rappahannock (now MacArthur) Ave.
I can’t figure out how to edit my original post of the Lyon Theater. The location was about half a block southwest of what shows in the photo, across Mayfield Ave. from the drug store. The seating capacity is just a guess. But it was a small theater with a balcony for African American patrons.
During the summer of 1974, I worked in Tazewell. I remember this drive-in was open. One of the features was a film called “Preacher Man Meets Widow Woman.” I certainly couldn’t forget a classic like that!
Anyone know when it stopped being used as a theater?
I remember going there in the mid-70s with a special young lady. Even then it seemed a bit of an anachronism – a single screen in the middle of a small town. Thank you for posting this, brings back good memories!
I’m sorry to report that the Westhampton Theater building was torn down about six months ago. The developer said something about preserving the façade of the building, but there’s nothing left to preserve now. It’s sad, it was a lovely old art deco building and a local landmark. It was in excellent condition right up until the last.
The Westhampton closed last night (March 20, 2016). There was no advance notice, although it was well known that it would close sometime this year. I saw a lot of good movies there over the past 45 years, but recently attendance had dropped. There is a lot of competition these days for the entertainment dollar and it is a little surprising that this theater lasted for 78 years. There are a lot of good memories wrapped up in the place and I’ll miss it!
That is sad news, there have been rumors it would close for several years. But it is still open at the moment and I urge anyone who hasn’t been there to go and check it out before it closes. There are some wonderful architectural details inside. This theater has anchored this vibrant neighborhood for over 75 years and it will be sorely missed.
Yes, I’ve look for a photo of it but no luck thus far. The manager you mentioned was Miss Wilma or Wilmer or something like that. Wish I could recall her full name. Some of us unruly teenagers gave her a fit back in the 60s. Wish she was still around so I could apologize. I’m not exactly sure when it closed, 1967 could be right. It was still open in 1966 when I finished High School at Waverly. The building was vacant for years but was torn down a long time ago. There is a public parking lot on the site.
I’m not sure how the photo got there. In the background is the Wine shop at 4009 MacArthur Ave. According to “Celebrate Richmond Theater” by Kathrine Fuller-Seeley, the Ginter was at 4011 Rappahannock (now MacArthur) Ave.
I can’t figure out how to edit my original post of the Lyon Theater. The location was about half a block southwest of what shows in the photo, across Mayfield Ave. from the drug store. The seating capacity is just a guess. But it was a small theater with a balcony for African American patrons.
During the summer of 1974, I worked in Tazewell. I remember this drive-in was open. One of the features was a film called “Preacher Man Meets Widow Woman.” I certainly couldn’t forget a classic like that!
It was open as late as the summer of 1972. I remember seeing a movie there at that time…
I remember going to movies here while I was a student at Elon College in the late 1960s.
Anyone know when it stopped being used as a theater? I remember going there in the mid-70s with a special young lady. Even then it seemed a bit of an anachronism – a single screen in the middle of a small town. Thank you for posting this, brings back good memories!