History
Built in 1928, the theater cost $900,000 (2009 Adjusted Inflation $11,000,000) to construct. The builders were Charles Somma and Walter Coulter. The original name for the theater was the State Theater, but by the completion of the construction the name was already taken. It was then named after William Byrd, founder of the city of Richmond.
The Byrd Theatre opened for the first time on December 24, 1928. At the time, adult tickets were 50 cents for evening shows and 25 cents for matinees, while a child’s tickets was only 10 cents. The first movie was the film "Waterfront", a First National Film. In addition, the manager at the time was Robert Coulter, who remained the manager until his retirement in 1971 (he is rumored to haunt the theatre).
In 1953, the original 35mm Simplex standards were replaced by the current Simplex 35mm projectors, which are still used daily.
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