NORFOLK, Va. — Back in the day Riverview Theater, the movie theater on Granby Street, was the place to be in Norfolk. Especially if you wanted to catch a break from the summer heat. More than 70 years later, the theater's fallen into disrepair. Now, some want to bring it back to life.
The theater opened in 1947. It has been through several changes over the years, but today it brings back fond memories for many.
Sherry Baron grew up in Norfolk and said as a kid she used to go to the movies at Riverview with her parents and sisters every couple of months.
"Movies ran for a long period of time then," said Sherry Baron of Virginia Beach. "It wasn't just showing for a few days, they ran for weeks."
She said catching a movie was special.
"One that stood out to me was the Cecil B. DeMille 'The Ten Commandments,'" said Baron. "Then there were the musicals of the era, and we would come and see that and sit and enjoy and of course you always had to buy snacks."
She remembered there were ushers that would show people to one of the 700 seats.
Baron is just one of many who enjoyed the theater.
"It brings back memories for people," said John Childers, who is in the process of purchasing Riverview Theater.
John Childers, who co-owns MJ's Tavern down the street from the theater, said he never watched a movie at the location but was interested in the history after seeing the building each day.
"It's shown the movie the 'Sound of Music' more than 900 times over 100 weeks, I believe it was," said Childers. "I may be off on the math, but a huge amount of times." Former Virginian-Pilot movie writer Mal Vincent reported the theater showed 'Sound of Music' for 115 weeks in the 1960s.
Childers said the theater's not just known as a place for movies, and, for a time, X-rated movies in the 1970s, but a place for music as well.
"I learned Def Leppard played here," said Childers. "Quiet Riot played here."
Early advertising of the theater boasts an indoor box office where folks could enjoy air conditioning and a 'crying room' for mothers to enjoy a movie with noisy children. One pamphlet, that Norfolk Public Library historians believe to be from October 1947, advertised a showing of "Dishonored Lady" and "Variety Girl."
Now, there's no noisy kids and no movies playing. Childers, along with several unnamed partners, hopes to change that. They are in the works to buy the theater.
They plan to expand the upstairs 'crying room' to create a VIP area and install seating from the old Rosna Theater downstairs. They'll also tackle much-needed AC, electrical, plumbing, and cosmetic work on site and install a parking lot next door.
The current owner, who wanted the next owners to keep the venue as a theater, almost sold the space four years ago but the deal fell through, according to Childers. He added that he and his partners are using $3 million in private funding, including $1.7 million for repairs, to acquire the space. And the plans are getting a positive response from others in the community too.
They want the space to become a community space to be used for mostly live performances and music, as well as some movies, civic discussion, political debates and more.
"Riverview is a commercial area, but it's more like a community commercial area," said Childers. "It's a small piece of hometown USA. There's only one franchise in the area, everything else is mom and pop owned. It's people getting by. That's why we want to help this neighborhood and help the city of Norfolk be more than it is now. I want to bring it back to the neighborhood. This will help the 35th street corridor, obviously it will help the Riverview area."
The group hopes to finalize the sale later this month and then start work.
Childers said it would be a full-circle moment to show the "Sound of Music" as the first movie in the space.
