{"nrhp_refnum":"79003074","name":"Dalton Theatre Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Washington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pulaski","county":"Pulaski County","state":"VA","lat":37.04679931800007,"lon":-80.77960514999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick theatre and commercial building on Washington Avenue in Pulaski, Virginia, built in 1921 and designed by James C. Lombard & Company of Washington, D.C. for Dalton Brothers and Richardson.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine example of the Beaux-Arts entertainment palaces of the early 20th century, and the only known surviving example of such a theatre in Southwest Virginia. It also shows the influence of Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium Building in Chicago by pairing an elaborate auditorium with an income-producing commercial block. Its interior decoration is highlighted as especially noteworthy.","narrative":"Built in 1921 beside Peak Creek on Washington Avenue in Pulaski, this three-story brick building combined a vaudeville and movie theatre with street-level shops and upper-floor offices and apartments. James C. Lombard & Company of Washington, D.C. designed it for Dalton Brothers and Richardson. The cream-colored brick facade is plain, with patterned brickwork and a squat square tower over the central bay, but the auditorium behind it is richly decorated in the Beaux-Arts manner, with Doric pilasters, gilded masks, an undulating balcony on Ionic columns, and original curtain, lights and projection equipment. The design reflects the influence of Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium Building in Chicago, which also paired a grand hall with a revenue-producing business block. The building had the largest stage along the rail line from Richmond to Tennessee, but its heyday ended by 1930 as talking pictures arrived and vaudeville declined. It showed films until the mid-1960s. It is regarded as the only known surviving example of its kind in Southwest Virginia.","period_of_significance":"1921","architect_builder":"James C. Lombard & Co.","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unused, empty and unoccupied at the time of nomination, with plans underway for renovation and reuse as a community-owned facility. It served as a movie theatre until the mid-1960s.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.781041-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6827/41682769/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003074.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003074/0f2bc6a40f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003074/0f2bc6a40f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dalton_Theatre_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dalton_Theatre_Building.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86000405","name":"Pulaski Historic Commercial District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/pulaski-historic-commercial-district-86000405/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682769","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_Theatre_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15212639"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/pulaski-county/dalton-theatre-building-79003074/"}