Pitts Theatre
About this property
Pitts Theatre, also known as the State Theatre after 1970, is a historic movie theater located at Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia. It was built in 1937–1938, and is a concrete block structure faced in brick in the Art Deco style. The building consists of a symmetrical three-bay façade, with a central theater entrance flanked by storefront retail spaces. The façade features a stepped massing that recedes from the entrance and storefronts. The interior has a sophisticated circulation system, which enabled balcony patrons, which were initially African-American, and white patrons to enter the theater separately to separate spaces; the main balcony and auditorium, respectively. The theater closed in 1992. The theater was reopened in May 2013 with a performance by Lyle Lovett, after renovation supported by federal and state historic tax credits. The newly renovated performing arts venue's rebirth would be short lived, however. In an open letter to the Culpeper community on September 14, 2016, the State Theatre Foundation's board of directors announced that it would be ceasing operations immediately and refunding any ticket holders for upcoming performances. The letter did not give any specifics as to what would eventually become of the downtown icon, only stating "...to diligently work to decide the best course of action for the facility..." The building again sits closed to the public, as it once had for nearly twenty years, on Culpeper's Main Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Pitts Theatre listed on the National Register?
Pitts Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 2008.
What type of historic resource is Pitts Theatre?
Pitts Theatre is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Pitts Theatre?
The period of significance for Pitts Theatre is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Pitts Theatre?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Pitts Theatre will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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