{"nrhp_refnum":"03000188","name":"National Theater","other_names":["Towne Theater","127-178-1"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"700-710 E. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54196161900006,"lon":-77.43540798099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A theater building at 700-710 East Broad Street in downtown Richmond, Virginia, built in 1922-1923 by the First National Amusement Company. It is an Italian Renaissance style building with a four-story center section and two-story wings.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the theater as an exceptional example of the 1920s picture palace era, qualifying under Criteria A and C for architecture and entertainment/leisure. Its terra cotta exterior and Adamesque plaster interior are cited as notable design features, and its office space housed talent agents and booking entrepreneurs.","narrative":"Built in 1922-1923 by the First National Amusement Company, this theater occupies the northeast corner of East Broad and 7th Streets in downtown Richmond. Its street facades combine sandstone-colored brick with glazed terra cotta in an Italian Renaissance design. A four-story central section with a green tile roof and bracketed cornice is flanked by two-story wings. The frieze shows classical male figures, one playing a lyre and another unfurling a reel of film. Inside, the lobby and 1,300-seat auditorium have Adamesque plasterwork and oval domes. Offices on the upper floors were rented to retailers, talent agencies and theater companies, and the basement once held a billiard parlor. A 1968 remodeling changed doors, the marquee, and lobby finishes and painted over the plaster, which is now being restored. Recognized for architecture and for its role in entertainment and leisure during the picture palace era, the building is currently vacant.","period_of_significance":"1922-1953","architect_builder":"Claude K. Howell; Ferruccio Legnaioli","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant/not in use; described as in good shape with largely intact integrity, with interior plasterwork (painted gray in 1968) being restored.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.84134-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/6830/41683065/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/03000188.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000188/93f88b400a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000188/93f88b400a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"C.K. Howell, Inc. (architects)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Theatre,_Richmond,_Virginia_-_Mar_1924_ETR.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">C.K. Howell, Inc. (architects)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Theatre,_Richmond,_Virginia_-_Mar_1924_ETR.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683065","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_(theater)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6978913"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/national-theater-03000188/"}