{"nrhp_refnum":"79003292","name":"Loews Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6th and Grace Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54088690100008,"lon":-77.43770432799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick and terra-cotta movie palace at Sixth and Grace streets in downtown Richmond, Virginia, designed by theater architect John Eberson for the Loew's Theater Company and opened April 9, 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a handsome example of 1920s movie palace architecture and a work of John Eberson. Its exterior mixes Moorish and Spanish Colonial Revival design, and its interior shows Eberson's atmospheric effects, including a sky-colored ceiling and an illusion of an open Spanish plaza. It was considered the most up-to-date theater in the South when it opened.","narrative":"Loew's Theater occupies the corner of Sixth and Grace streets in downtown Richmond. Architect John Eberson designed it, and it opened to capacity crowds on April 9, 1928, billed as the most up-to-date theater in the South. It cost $1,250,000 to build. The exterior combines Moorish and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, with a six-story curved Baroque corner tower, terra-cotta pilasters, a Moorish arcade along Sixth Street and shops at street level. Inside, a circular lobby leads to a cross-vaulted foyer and an auditorium that originally seated 2,217. Churrigueresque false facades, a Baroque proscenium and a sky-colored ceiling with tiny lights gave the impression of an open Spanish plaza under stars. The building was altered in the 1960s with a new marquee and interior repainting. It declined in the late 1970s, closed in June 1979, and was bought by the Richmond Symphony as its home theater.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"John Eberson","architectural_style":"Mixture of Moorish and Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed as a movie house in June 1979 and purchased by the Richmond Symphony for use as its home theater; marked unoccupied on the form.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.672919-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6831/41683169/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003292.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003292/5783e4b021-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003292/5783e4b021-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carpenter_Theatre_Richmond_Va.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carpenter_Theatre_Richmond_Va.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/41683169","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Energy_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7330778"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/loews-theatre-79003292/"}