Magic Lantern Theatre
171 N. Main Street,
Suffolk,
VA
23434
171 N. Main Street,
Suffolk,
VA
23434
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Pitts' Theaters Inc., R/C Theatres
Architects: Alexander DePre Breeden
Styles: Tudor Revival
Previous Names: Chadwick Theatre, Pitts Chadwick Theatre, Squire Cinema
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Designed by architect Alexander DePre Breeden the Chadwick Theatre was opened January 26, 1925 with James Kirkwood in “Top of the World”. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Orchestral organ which was opened by organist J. Shepherd Brinkley. In the 1940’s and into the 1950’s it was operated by Pitts' Theaters Inc. On January 23, 1976 it was it was renamed Squire Cinema. On September 23, 1980 it was renamed Magic Lantern Theatre.
On November 18, 1982, the Magic Lantern Theatre was destroyed by a fire, which was arson, an insurance job perpetrated by the theatre owners. The last movie screened was Dana Kimmell in “Friday 13th: Part 3”.
The front section of the theatre and the marquee survive today.
Contributed by
Lost Memory, Daniel Perry
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
I only went to the Chadwick Theatre twice, once to see Hotel and another time to see Gunn (a movie spinoff of the Peter Gunn series). I was just a little kid and not even in school yet. Sorry to say, I can remember the movies but not the Chadwick Theatre itself.
Maybe if my elder siblings or anyone else has any recollections, I can pass them on.
PLEASE ADD TO ADDRESS:
171 north main street
THANKS
There was a newspaper story here when the theater burned down. Arson was suspected from the start because the expensive projectors were not found in the ruins
I remember there was an illuminated clock to one side of the screen… something I never saw anywhere else. Movies I saw there: BACHELOR IN PARADISE, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, and LADY SINGS THE BLUES. By the early 70’s it was not a place you wanted to be after dark.
I saw Jaws 2 there and Godzilla vs. Megalon. It was my favorite theater even though I hardly ever got to go there. The downtown area in the late 70’s and early 80’s just wasn’t a place to go at night. Well at least my parents thought so. Plus by this time it was starting to show adult films so it was definitely a theater my parents were not going to spend money at. I miss that bijou sign. In it’s place now stands a show store and it boasts a bijou as an apparent homage.
It was several years ago I must have stumbled across this site looking for info on the old Chadwick/Magic Lantern Theater. I provided the info on Friday the 13th Part 3 being the last movie screened. I believe I am correct on that. I am a huge horror fan and always wanted to see that film when it came to the Magic Lantern. However I was only 11 years old when it hit theaters.
I saw my first movies there in the 1940s.
November 24, 1982 – Story in Norfolk Journal and Guide
a.Fire heavily damaged the Magic Lantern Theater in Suffolk November 18, 1982
b.Fire officials have charged three men with arson in the early morning blaze.
Notes Note 1: The men arrested were the owners Note 2: Arson was suspected from the outset due to the fact that the projectors had been removed from the theatre prior to the fire.
The Chadwick Theatre opened on January 26, 1925. The house was one of several new theaters featured in a portfolio in the March 28 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review (scan at Internet Archive.)
Though the article failed to name the architect, it did say that the interiors were inspired by 16th century English architecture. With their beamed ceilings the auditorium and foyer did resemble the Tudor style more than anything else, though the screens for the $25,000 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones unit orchestra were sufficiently elaborate that they might have been more of a nod to the later Jacobean style.
January 26, 1925 as with launch with “The Top of the World” and a the “William Tell Overture” played on the Chadwick’s $25,000 Hope Jones Orchestral pipe organ played by J. Shepherd Brinkley in photos.
The Chadwick Theatre was renamed the Squire Cinema on January 23, 1976, and was renamed the Magic Lantern Theatre on September 3, 1980. It was once operated by R/C Theatres.