May 14, 2006
The Henrico
North Linden Avenue and Nine Mile Road, Highland Springs, VA
The first time we saw this building, we were driving down Nine Mile Road, looking for a carwash. Suddenly the theater appeared on our left, rising up like a huge Art Deco cloud.
The Henrico Theater made it onto the National Register last September. The registration application (pdf, pictures of interior details, pictures from 2001) has a lot of interesting information, including a description of the interior. (Which I must see. I am eagerly awaiting the grand reopening.) The theater opened on 25 April 1938 and was in continuous operation until the late 1990's. It was designed by Edward Francis Sinnott, Sr., who designed a number of buildings around town. The architect's bio in the National Register application includes a list of his buildings. I think my next photography project will be to track them down. I also need to return to the Henrico and get better shots than what I have of the metal pieces over the display windows and the pavement under the marquee.
The theater is owned by the county now and has been undergoing renovation for a few years, off and on as the money was not sufficient at the outset. According to the Henrico County Historical Society, the Henrico should reopen as a movie theater and performance space in the fall of 2007. An older article includes a plan of the property.
241 words | May 14, 2006 10:55 PM | Shutterbug