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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Richmond Metropolitan Area » Court End–East Broad Street, from 14th Street to 3rd Street » Theater Row

Theater Row

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1919, Colonial Theatre. 1993, office tower, Glave, Newman, Anderson. 718 E. Broad St.
  • Theater Row (Virginia Division of Historic Resources)

Throughout most of twentieth century this block was part of a theater district that included both playhouses and cinemas. Richmond has an abundance of elaborate old movie palaces, and apparently (and unfortunately) civic leaders thought that the auditorium of the Colonial, the oldest standing movie theater in Richmond, could be sacrificed for an office building. The resulting “facade-ectomy” retains the Renaissance Revival facade with its lavish ornaments by Richmond sculptor Ferruccio Legnaioli. While the boxy office tower that rises behind the facade makes an attempt at context, it is overly fussy and looks like a giant 1920s floor-model radio.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

The National Theater
Library of Virginia
St. Peter's Catholic Church (Cathedral)
The Elder Building
Sydnor and Hundley Furniture Store

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Theater Row", [Richmond, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-RI31.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 188-188.

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