{"nrhp_refnum":"80004312","name":"Wells Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Tazewell St. and Monticello Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk (Independent City)","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.84900428000003,"lon":-76.29009515599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A vaudeville and road show theatre at the northwest corner of Tazewell Street and Monticello Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia. It was completed in 1913 to designs by the New York firm E. C. Horn and Sons.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the theatre is an outstanding example of Beaux Arts theatre architecture in Virginia and a representative of early 20th-century popular culture. It was the most ambitious house in the Southern vaudeville chain run by Jacob and Otto Wells, whose operations centered on Tidewater Virginia. Its Beaux Arts interior remains largely intact.","narrative":"Completed in 1913 at the corner of Tazewell Street and Monticello Avenue in Norfolk, this vaudeville and road show theatre was designed by the New York firm E. C. Horn and Sons. Its hollow tile structure is faced with tan brick and terra-cotta, and a three-story entrance tower with an open loggia and pantile roof marks the front. Inside, an oval lobby leads to a foyer with caryatid-wrapped columns and an auditorium rich in Beaux Arts ornament, including a Rococo-style ceiling mural, gilt plaster, marbleized walls and cantilevered box seats. The theatre opened in August 1913 as the showpiece of a chain of thirty-four Southern houses run by Jacob and Otto Wells, and originally seated 1,650. It later became a movie theatre and went through many owners and alterations, yet kept most of its decorative interior. It is recognized as an outstanding Virginia example of Beaux Arts theatre design.","period_of_significance":"1913-14","architect_builder":"E. C. Horn and Sons","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition at the time of nomination. The Virginia Stage Company had recently leased it and was rehabilitating it for use as a stage theatre, after it served as an X-rated movie house from 1961 to 1979.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.148556-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/6821/41682191/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80004312.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004312/900b0eeac4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004312/900b0eeac4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wells_Theatre.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cathy1763</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:Wells_Theatre.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"87000475","name":"Downtown Norfolk Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/downtown-norfolk-historic-district-87000475/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682191","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7981709"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/wells-theatre-80004312/"}