The 1300-seat Byrd Theatre, named after William Byrd II, one of the founders of Richmond, is one of the nation's finest cinema treasures. And unlike many opulent theatres that were built during the 1920s and 1930s in the United States, the Byrd Theatre is largely unaltered in appearance or function, operating almost continuously since 1928 as a movie theatre.

In 2007, the Byrd Theatre was purchased by The Byrd Theatre Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation, with the express purpose of restoring and preserving this theatre as a vital community resource. When the Theatre isn’t being used for second-run movies, the Foundation plans to integrate cultural, educational and community aspects into the Theatre’s programming while still offering movies at reasonable prices.

80 Years of History and Entertainment
The year 2008 marks the 80th birthday of the Byrd Theatre, which was built in 1928 in Richmond, Virginia as one of the Nation’s Grand Movie Palaces and today is both a State and National Historic landmark. The 1300-seat Byrd Theatre, named after William Byrd, one of the founders of Richmond, is one of the nation’s finest cinema treasures.

And unlike many opulent theatres that were built during the 1920s and 1930s in the United States, the Byrd Theatre has survived the past 80 years largely unaltered in appearance or function, operating almost continuously since 1928 as a movie theatre. The first movie shown at the Byrd on Christmas Eve, 1928, was Waterfront, a silent movie with sound added. This was a comedy with Dorothy MacKaill and Jack Mulhall. Patrons paid 25 cents for a matinee and 50 cents for an evening movie. Today patrons pay $1.99 for a movie.

In 2007, a purchase agreement for The Byrd Theatre was reached with the Samuel Warren family by The Byrd Theatre Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation, with the express purpose of purchasing, restoring and preserving this theatre as a vital community resource. The Foundation plans to integrate cultural, educational and community events into the Theatre’s programming while still offering movies at reasonable prices.

An Architectural Treasure
The Byrd Theatre is an architectural treasure chest adorned with paintings, marbled walls, gold leaf arches, a richly appointed mezzanine, and some of the original patterned mohair-covered seats. An 18-foot, two-and-a-half ton Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier suspended over the auditorium contains over 5,000 crystals illuminated by 500 red, blue, green and amber lights.

Built by Walter Coulter and Charles Somma, the theatre was designed in the French Empire style by Fred Bishop, a Richmond architect. The decor was by the Brunet Studios of New York.

The cinema visionaries who built and designed the Byrd outfitted it with two sound systems. One of these was Vitaphone, a relatively new sound synchronization system commercially developed by Warner Brothers. “The Jazz Singer,” generally acknowledged as the first talking film, was recorded using this system. At that time, though, it was uncertain whether “talkies” would continue to be popular and a significant number of the films distributed were still silent so the Byrd also had a Wurlitzer Theatre organ. In 1953, the original 35mm Simplex standards were replaced by the current Simplex 35mm projectors, which are still used daily.

In 2004, Ray Dolby, who created the Dolby sound system, toured the Byrd and was so impressed with the theatre that he donated a Dolby Digital sound system, which was installed in 2006. Just as in 1928, the Byrd has state-of-the-art sound technology.

The design of Grand Movie Palaces in the 1920s and l930s was reminiscent of the opulent European Opera Houses and the Byrd was no different. No expenses were spared in its design and construction with a cost of about $900,000. In today’s dollars that amounts to almost $11 million. And some architectural details simply cannot be duplicated. Sometimes in the dimly lit theatre, the delicate architectural details are easy to miss.

Learn more about the Byrd Theatre and the Mighty Wurlitzer - a landmark within a landmark by visiting
http://byrdtheatre.com or watch the 16 minute video below.