The Byrd Theatre is fundraising to replace seats in the balcony and side sections of the historic movie theater’s auditorium. The organization plans to start the replacement project early next year. (Jack Jacobs photo)
The next leg of the Byrd Theatre’s yearslong effort to give moviegoers a more comfortable place to sit is set to ramp up in the coming months.
The nonprofit that runs the historic Carytown movie theater is planning to replace the seats in the building’s balcony beginning in early 2025.
The organization recently announced it secured a $315,000 donation that’s been earmarked for the project. The funds were provided by Martin Davenport, who is the chairman of the Byrd Theatre Foundation’s board of directors.
The balcony project is expected to start in January and be completed in March, said Ben Cronly, the foundation’s executive director.
The project comes as part of the Byrd’s Pull Up A Seat campaign, which aims to raise the money needed to replace seats in the balcony as well as its side sections, and add two ADA-accessible platforms to the theater.
The ongoing campaign seeks to raise $660,000 for those final three phases and the Byrd announced this week it was about $160,000 short of the goal. While the balcony seating project is funded and about to start, Cronly said there wasn’t yet a specific timeline on the completion of the side sections.
Illinois-based Irwin Seating Co. will handle the seat-replacement project, and Chester-based Delta Graphic was tapped to design the layout of the new seats.
The effort is the latest phase in a process that began in 2017 when the seats in the theater’s center section were replaced.
Cronly said the project was needed because of the age of the auditorium’s seats, a number of which are considered unusable. He noted that some of the worn-out seats have been there since the theater opened nearly a century ago.
“Some of the seats, on the balcony especially, are original to the theater. It’s time for them to be replaced and we have plenty that are unusable right now,” Cronly said.
Ben Cronly
The new seats will be wider than the seats they’re replacing, and ultimately the Byrd will have slightly less capacity by the end of the project.
The theater currently has a total of about 1,100 seats, of which 950 are in use. At the project’s conclusion, the theater will have about 930 seats. Some rows in the side sections will be removed to provide more legroom there.
Cronly, who has been the foundation’s executive director since March 2023, said the Byrd has seen an increase in visitation since the COVID-19 pandemic but has yet to achieve the levels of attendance it saw prior to the pandemic.
“We’ve seen an increase in attendance over the last couple years, especially after COVID. We’re not back to where we were before the pandemic, but we are improving,” he said.
The organization reported about $963,000 in revenue and $1.5 million in expenses for fiscal year 2023, per tax filings. In fiscal year 2019, the Byrd foundation saw about $723,000 in revenue and $244,000 in expenses.
The Byrd opened at 2908 W. Cary St. in 1928. The theater is both a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. The nonprofit that owns and runs the theater was established in 2002.
The Byrd is fundraising for its latest capital project amid other action in the neighborhood.
The Carytown Merchants Association recently unveiled a new Art Deco-style sign to welcome visitors to the shopping district. Eyewear retailer Warby Parker and wine shop Dinner Party are both planning to open in Carytown.