Westhampton Theatre
5706 Grove Avenue,
Richmond,
VA
23226
5706 Grove Avenue,
Richmond,
VA
23226
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Became a twinplex on December 18th, 1981. Grand opening ad posted.
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.
Was on business in town about 16 or 17 years ago and had the good fortune to catch a movie there (plus a few at The Byrd).
Sad to see this theater close as it is the last first run theater in town that is not an ugly multiplex. I have a long history with the Westhampton going back to November of 1967 when I first visited there to see GONE WITH THE WIND. I have certainly spent many hours over the last five decades there as movies and exhibition styles have changed.
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!
The most recent news I heard is that this theater will close in May. Has anyone heard any updates?
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.
Article from Richmond.com scheduled to close this year.
http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_a4bc37f6-32a1-5122-8def-7662f8708a14.html
Rumor has it that the Westhampton will close at the end of this summer and be demolished. Can anyone confirm this?
This opened on March 5th, 1938. It’s grand opening ad has been uploaded in the photo section.
ALSO PREVIOUSLY OPERATED BY:
CINEPLEX ODEON
NEIGHBORHOOD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. (NEI)
One of the “Norelco” AA projectors were removed and installed at the “Ridge” during renovations. Platters were installed in two projector booths at this time.
The entry for architect A.O. Budina in the 1956 edition of the AIA’s American Architects Directory lists the Westhampton Theatre in Richmond as one of his projects from the year 1938.
In the summer of 1968 we played 2001: A Space Odyssey in 70mm and six track stereo with all seats reserved. I was in Huguenot High School and got a job as an usher and was always surprised to see all the hippies reserve the first two rows. My buddy Mark Albert told me they were dropping acid and waiting for the light show at the end to truly space out. The next summer, when we played WOODSTOCK, we had to discontinue our no shirts/no shoes/no admission policy because all the flower kids were coming that hot hot sumer with neither. In 1975, the Westhampton played the first run showing of JAWS. Now it plays strictly art and foreign fare, but in the 1970’s it was a big player and it was where I launched the midnight movie series with brother Terry Young. We moved them to the Ridge because the kids kept screwing with the chandeliers and artwork.
The Westhampton is definitely among an elite group of cinemas which merit making a two hour drive to see a film there. Exterior shots from 2010: 1, 2, 3
My posting lost the first line, which was:
There are 480 seats in the downstairs auditorium and 279 in the upstairs (old balcony) auditorium.
Apparently some seats were lost in the renovation. What John RL fails to mention is that, unlike the “corporate 12-plex down the street”, the Westhampton features Williamsburg architecture, including a fireplace and requisite portrait hanging over it, a huge, gorgeous mirror in the lobby, and some original signage from the early days, including a “Men’s Lounge” sign to indicate the men’s restroom. There are also paintings displayed by a local art league, as well as many brass fixtures (stanchions and door plates) which are kept highly polished by Robert, the Westhampton doorman of many years.
To be fair, I’m a former manager, so I maybe be a bit biased. It is a grand old movie house in my eyes.
When we had the roadshow premiere of SWEET CHARITY there in the summer of 1969, the only celebrity we could muster up was Shirley Maclaine’s childhood ballet teacher, who remembered her fondly for the sell out crowd.
The Westhampton opened in 1938. It is one of only two reamining movie houses still open inside the city limits of Richmond. All the other area theaters are multiplexes located in the surburbs near shopping malls.
The theater is great. It is in a quaint neighborhood. They take the time to play the art-house movies that otherwise wouldn’t be shown in Richmond.
The downside is that Regal has made much of it look like the other half-dozen theaters they own in town. The uniforms are the same, same bad popcorn, same concessions, same pre-movie slides. It is hard to not feel like it is still the same place as the corporate 12-plex down the street.
Very nice theatre. I like this place a lot. I never saw it when it was a single screen, unfortunately, but it’s very charming today. Well decorated in the lobby. It’s a real asset for Richmond and its neighborhood.
Camden
The Westhampton Theatre seated 848 people when it was a single screen theatre.
In the 60’s the Westhampton was converted to 70mm with a huge screen and stereo sound and handled the roadshows of such films as LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, MY FAIR LADY, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, and GONE WITH THE WIND. It was advertised as “The House of Todd-Ao”.