The Byrd Theater, located at the heart of Carytown, Richmond’s long beloved shopping and market district, has been providing patrons a uniquely engaging movie-g



The Byrd Theater, located at the heart of Carytown, Richmond’s long beloved shopping and market district, has been providing patrons a uniquely engaging movie-going experience for nearly 100 years. Now, as nearly all historic buildings will do, something has gone horribly wrong. The “chiller” (AC unit for the building) has crapped out and it’s going to take a small fortune to fix it.

But before we get to today’s problems, lets take a look back at the Byrd and its cross-generational impact here in RVA.

This charming and nostalgic movie theater was named for William Byrd, one of the founders of the City of Richmond, and has remained virtually unaltered aesthetically since it opened its doors on December 24th, 1928. The Byrd Theater was the first movie theater in Virginia to be equipped with a sound system, and serves as the home for a Mighty Wurlitzer Organ (which can still be heard on Saturday nights before the movie).

The Byrd can seat close to fourteen-hundred people (including orchestra and balcony seating) and currently offers second-run movies for only $2, which allows the Richmond area to enjoy the entertainment of modern blockbuster films while still holding on to the magnificence and beauty of a classic movie theater, all at a fraction of the normal movie-going price.

The Byrd Theater was purchased by The Byrd Theater Foundation (a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation formed with the sole intent of preserving the theater as a historically significant landmark of cinematic exhibition) in 2007. The foundation has been working to raise funds for numerous general improvements of the theater including digital upgrades of the projection system, the purchase of the buildings new boiler and, most recently, the air-conditioning system for the theater.

Todd Schall-Vess, general manager at The Byrd Theater, said the long list of building repairs and improvements the foundation has undertaken in the past few years, is a good start, but the recent Indiegogo fundraising campaign to replace the currently nonoperational air-conditioning unit is one if its largest endeavors to date.

“Operating a business in a historic building is sort of like firefighting”, said Schall-Vess, “you want to spend your time on prevention and avoidance but a lot of the time you just spend putting out the next fire.”

The Byrd has certainly seen its fair share of ‘fires’ recently, having spent more than $133,000 to keep the theater open and operational in the past three years. In fact, the (now broken) air-conditioning unit alone has cost the Byrd about $60,000 since it was first replaced in 1966. In addition to this already staggering amount of money, the Byrd Theater is also shelling out an additional $6,000 per month to pay for the rental of a working air-conditioning unit, in order to keep the Byrd open for the remainder of the summer. The Byrd Theater Foundation has essentially been performing triage, opting to invest in necessary big budget improvements before moving on to the more minor, superficial issues (such as those notoriously uncomfortable seats).



The temporary AC unit, currently costing the Byrd $6K a month

Schall-Vess said this hierarchy of needs has played the biggest role in updates to the theater so far. “No one cares how good the seats are in the winter if you can see your breath in the theater, and it doesn’t matter how comfortable your seats are if you don’t have content to show so the digital migration was something that absolutely had to happen.”

However, despite the seemingly never-ending list of “capital expenditures”, as Schall-Vess put it, the general manger seemed confident in the foundations fundraising abilities.

“… As long as there are people here who care about the Byrd, and as long as there are a huge number of people in the community who have consistently shown they are there that care about the Byrd theater…I’m not really concerned…I’ve been here for 15 years…people are constantly predicting the death of movies and movie theaters but I think the Byrd, at nearing 85 [years], has shown its resilience”

His confidence is certainly not ill-conceived, as the Byrd Theater Foundation has been able to step up and deliver on several daunting fundraising obstacles in the past, including the Mary Morton Parson’s $250,000 matching challenge in 2012. Similarly, this year, the Cabell Foundation (an organization founded to assist the needs of other charitable groups in Virginia, and specifically the Richmond city area) has made a commitment to give the Byrd Theater Foundation $250,000 if they are able to raise that same amount on their own.



Attempts to mend the chiller have now failed

And while the Byrd has certainly show the capability of achieving such a feat, the general manager warned that “we can’t ever become complacent…yes, we have accomplished great things…but there’s still more that needs to be done…it’s important to remind people who it’s an ongoing job…and it’s not done yet.”

When asked what the plan would be if the foundation was not be able to raise the requisite sum, Schall-Vesse assured me that the Byrd Theater was “not putting all of [their] eggs in one basket” and that the Indiegogo campaign (cleverly titled ‘Keep the Byrd Humming!’) was one of many other fundraising avenues the foundation was exploring.

On September 26th, in association with the Carytown Merchants Association, the Byrd Theater will be hosting a fashion show, Carytown Feeds the Byrd, which Schall-Vesse explained, “is not only a showcase of our neighbors here along Cary Town (and also elsewhere in Richmond)…but also an opportunity for people to come and support the Byrd.”

In addition to this event, Cameron Carpenter (a Grammy Award nominated organist) will be returning to the Byrd Theater and its Mighty Wurlitzer Organ for a third time on October 4th at 8PM.

When questioned about why the Byrd Theater had decided to utilize Indiegogo as a means for fundraising, Schall-Vess said that “it seemed like the right approach because people in Richmond take the Byrd Theater very personally…and this is their opportunity to take a very active part.”

He also emphasized that “it’s important to understand that the day-to-day operations of the theater and the foundation are separate…these capital expenditures have to be paid for through donations…while we love your patronage and we want you to keep coming, If you want to truly help the long-term goals of the foundation, donating is the way to do it.”

It is 2013, and movie ticket sales around the country have taken a dip, but Schall-Vess said, even in a world where modern movies are available, literally at our finger tips, the Byrd will always stand out as a unique experience.

“There is not another place, in the country, exactly like it….It’s a true movie palace… And while multimedia has spread our ideas of what movies or entertainment can be (and that’s not a bad thing, I’m not a Luddite)…there is something that is still…special…about going to a movie theater, about actually take the time, walking away from your home, and going into an environment that was designed to take you away…and in this case, take you back.

And beyond the “movie going experience” the Byrd fulfills for many Richmonders each week, the landmark has also served as an amazing venue for RVA’s local cinema community, “the French film festival, which is the largest of its kind in the US, has made the Byrd Theater its home, because we provide a unique aesthetic…we also provide opportunities for local non-profits…”

So spare what you can, support a local institution, go see a movie with your best guy/gal, and remember The Byrd is one of the things that makes RVA what it is.