Afton Theatre
42 Afton Parkway,
Portsmouth,
VA
23702
42 Afton Parkway,
Portsmouth,
VA
23702
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The Afton Theatre sits in the middle of the Cradock Historic District in the Afton Square shopping district. The district has been falling down hill since the 1960’s by all appearances. The theatre closed by the early-1970’s.
It was opened September 14, 1937 with some fanfare, as a totally state of the art house. The opening movie was “Wake Up and Live”. Operated by Carolina-Virginia Amusement Corporation, it was equipped with some level of stage facilities. Community efforts to raise funds for rehab have failed miserably. This is so sad, as the area has so much potential. A non-profit was started, but has virtually died out.
The old marquee hangs on to the building with a plea for help on the east side. Storefronts run along the front side of the structure, but are empty. A long lobby goes south toward the auditorium. The rear of the structure faces west. The roof is now partly collapsed, never a good sign for the future.
See the comments regarding the Afton Theatre on the Super 17 Drive-In (Portsmouth, VA) page on this site for more information.
Contributed by
George Hamilton Hill/Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
I drove by the other day.Looked in rear stage door.(had a stage)The sight I saw was truly heart breaking.The roof had now collapsed over the main auditorium.The mees was MASSIVE and unneccessary.This place could have been saved and become the center peice of an area with a lot of potential,rather than the sleazy aura it radiates now.
The city of Portsmouth sucks ! They have the ability to better themselves but the city leaders are slack lazy. The Afton will no doubt will have to be bulldozed and rebuilt again from the ground up.
AFTON THEATER OPENED SEPTEMBER 14, 1937.
Still abandoned and looking sad