The Byrd Theatre
Prior to moving to Virginia I was wondering “Is there a theater in Richmond where I can watch old horror movies throughout October, like I currently enjoy in a particular theater in my current town?” Yes it’s a fairly specific thing I was looking for. I enjoyed this experience every October and was hoping I didn’t have to stop, and lucky me! The Byrd Theatre plays old and contemporary horror movies all throughout October! They do other movies too, of course, if you’re into that sorta thing. Now that I’ve experienced an evening at The Byrd I feel it’s correct to declare that I’m a pretty big fan of this joint.
Located in Richmond’s Carytown neighborhood, The Byrd Theatre (named after Richmond’s founder, William Byrd II), was built by Walter Coulter and Charles Somma and designed in the French Empire style by Fred Bishop, a Richmond architect, and has been 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. Patrons paid 25 cents for a matinee and 50 cents for an evening movie. The theater was opulently outfitted with the most expensive fittings and up-to-date technology, originally costing about $900,000 to build, equivalent to around $13,000,000 today. The auditorium is lit by an 18-foot-tall, 2½-ton chandelier, containing 5,000 Czechoslovakian crystals and 500 bulbs that alternate between red, blue, green and amber. The auditorium ceiling contains hundreds of concealed bulbs, which are designed to change color between red, green, and amber in order to match the mood of the current film. The foyer and auditorium are clad in a variety of Turkish and Italian marble, hand-sewn velvet drapes and Greek-inspired plaster ornament sculpted by Ferruccio Legnaioli. There is plenty of gold and red in the overall design, and murals painted by French-born, New York-based artist Arthur Brounet, a French-born artist who specialized in theater and lobby decoration. To call this theater “opulent” is an understatement, probably why they spell it “Theatre,” E on the end, because that’s the fancy way to spell “Theater!” The first manager of the Byrd was Robert Coulter, who remained the manager until his retirement in 1971, and is rumored to haunt the theater… because of course he is. Whether you believe in that sort of thing or not, look at this place, it NEEDS a haunting rumor!
On top of that, the theater boasts a Wurlitzer theater organ housed in two rooms located just above the stage, connected to a keyboard console directly in front of the screen. The organ has 17 ranks of organ pipes, a mandolin, chimes, sleigh bells, xylophone, and a full range of percussion instruments to use in connection with special effects in silent movies, such as bells, horns, and whistles. If you go on a Saturday, the house organist (The Byrd has a house organist) will perform a medley of music themed to the movie that’s playing. I know this because our first time there was on a Saturday, I was told to go on a Saturday, and it was pretty slick! A spotlight opened up, illuminating the lower portion of the screen as the organ and its operator slowly ascended while playing Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” followed by a selection from “Phantom of the Opera” and some other horror-inspired musical pieces, because we were there to watch “Nosferatu.” He played for 15 or 20 minutes before slowly descending back into the tiny orchestra pit, and then the movie started. House organists have been Carl Rhond, Wilma Beck, Waldo S. Newberry, Slim Mathis, Bill Dalton, Harold Warner, Eddie Weaver, Art Brown, James Hughes, Lin Lunde, and Bob Lent. The current house organist Bob Gulledge, and he’s a real treat to watch.
The Byrd was originally segregated. The balcony was intended to accommodate African-Americans, but instead the theater did not open its doors to blacks until the 1960s. Until then, if a black person came to the theater, he or she would be given admission and cab fare to any of the black theaters in the city. Considering that Richmond is the former capitol city of the Confederate States, you don’t have to look too hard to find evidence of its troubling past with regard to race. This is just one example, it’s not rare.
As a result of its longevity, the Byrd Theatre was designated as a Virginia Historic Landmark in 1978, followed in 1979 by listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007, the Byrd Theatre Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) corporation, entered into a purchase agreement for the Byrd with the intent of restoring and preserving the theatre.
The Byrd plays all sorts of movies old and new, and hosts events like Richmond International Film Festival, The Big LeBYRDski Fest, and Bleak Week. The theatre is also available for private events, and you can “rent” the marquis to display a message of your choosing. It’s not always easy to find parking in Carytown but there is a public parking deck two blocks north of the theater and, so far, we’ve always been able to find an open spot there. Afterward, have dinner or drinks in a number of local establishments, like the “New York Deli” located next door. I have yet to visit, however I’m a huge fan of rooftop bars, and New York Deli has one, called the Rockaway Tiki Bar (named after the 7-mile beach in Queens, NY). It’s on my 2026 to-do list, I’ll tell you about it after I go.
