What do you think this building in Old Town Alexandria was?

This one isn’t hard to guess, but it’s interesting how adaptable its form is. In fact, if you think about it, basically every building in one of these old cities no longer serves the exact purpose it did when it was built. That’s one of the key elements of traditional urbanism—the buildings are not necessarily tied to their uses. The more use-specific a structure is, the harder it is to adapt and reuse over time.

In case you aren’t sure what this one was, here’s the inside:

It was a movie theater—originally, the Richmond, later the Old Town, built in 1914 and closing occasionally between owners, but more or less continuously operating all the way until 2012!

There’s still a tile mosaic of the name at the entrance:

In the second interior picture, I’m standing on the balcony, which began as a dance floor and was later home to a second screen:

Originally opened as the Richmond Theater in 1914, it was the first permanent theater constructed in Alexandria and screened silent movies and vaudeville. The owners reportedly operated a vaudeville theater on the first floor and a dance hall on the second floor until around 1932, and the dance floor was later replaced with a balcony.

The cinema was twinned in 1980, making the balcony a second screen, and re-opened as the Old Town 1-2.

Here’s a photo of the theater in the 1960s.

A news story on the 2012 closure was kind of dismal:

After nine years as the theater’s owner and managing partner, Roger Fons says he can’t keep throwing money at it without turning a profit.

“It’s been a real rough time for me, especially the last year,” he says. “I lost about $150,000.”

He regrets having to close, but says he’s too old to work 12 to 14 hours, seven days a week.

Fons blames the tough economy for the closing, including factors like a major drop in tickets sales, expensive street parking and employee theft.

The King Street Trolley did not help, he says. It takes people from the King Street Metro Station right to the waterfront without stopping in between.

The theater will probably be replaced with a discount retail store. Fons says the new owner will put in “a Ross or something like that.” Even the icon marquee will be ripped down.

However, it did not become a discount store, it was not majorly remodeled, and the sign from the Old Town theater (the Richmond sign was long gone) was even retained. Here it is on Google Maps, when it was still open:

In mid-2012, after closure, the theater underwent some restoration. The sign was taken down and apparently restored:

I’m aware of the fact that this kind of thing is easier in a place that has a lot of money. Neglect can preserve buildings that would otherwise be torn down, but money can actually restore them. Is it ideal that it takes a high-end store to preserve an iconic old building? Maybe, maybe not. But it sure beats knocking it down.

Related Reading:

What Do You Think You’re Looking At? #6

Nothing to Write Home About

Something To See

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