From the Vault: The Virginia Theater, Revisited

Update: See earlier posts of the Virginia Theater from early February 2011 here and here, and then a post from late in 2011. I went back and visited the block of Virginia Avenue where the theater sits in the summer of 2020. A historic photograph was added in February of 2021 below.

William Swekosky, Virginia Theater, 1959,Missouri History Museum, N05133

A recent comment on my old pictures of the Virginia Theater reminded me that I had some old photos from an open house when the old movie house owners allowed access to those interested in seeing the interior.

The marble walls are in good condition inside the front entry.

There was some sort of mezzanine or office built above the original domed entryway, and there is still some nice art glass, terracotta and other elements preserved upstairs.

A drop ceiling has been built up above the floor of the auditorium.

It was last used as a church, as in evidenced by the configuration of the building.

2 Comments Add yours

  1. THOMAS F MAHER says:

    Thanks, Chris! I was there once, as a little kid, in the ’40s (a relative lived nearby).
    Boy, it was sure fancier than our two little “shows” in Kirkwood!

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      I imagine it looked a lot different back then, Tom?

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