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The future of the Robinson Theater?
06/07/2007 8:30 PM by John M
Rumor has it that the long empty Robinson Theater @ 2903 Q Street has been bought by a group of ministers with the intent to convert the property into a church.
Robinson Theater, 2903 Q Street (photo January 2004)
Well, church is theater – so that’s not even a change of use.
I just wonder how a group of ministers will share a church.
I’m really not sure we need any more churches in Church Hill. What we need are the existing churches to take care of their properties!! The Temple of Judah owns the empty lot next door to us and both refuses to mow their lawn (now 3 feet tall) and/or return our phone calls. And the beautiful but empty red brick St. Paul’s Baptist church near 26th and Marshall has weeds and overgrown lawns. Just because they don’t have to pay taxes doesn’t mean they don’t need to take care of their property. Maybe this group of ministers can tackle the existing faith based infrastructure before launching on another project… and I would rather it be a movie theater 🙂
Really beautiful building! Looks Art Deco or maybe a little earlier. Anyone know anything about the year built/ history of this theater?
Old movie/vaudevillian theaters are an endangered species. So many of them have gone under the wrecking ball or are irreversibly altered. It’d be nice if the new owners could restore the building to it’s original splendor regardless of it’s use. That way, if the owners sell in the future, it could become a theater again without much effort.
Vanessa – the churches of which you speak still have to maintain their properties, even if they don’t pay taxes. You can report the property violations on-line or over the phone to the City. It’s really easy to do on the City website. They give you a tracking number and everything. http://www.richmondgov.com – then click on Citzens Request. All of my requests have been addressed within a reasonable time. Prosecuting property maintenance violations is one of the things the City does well IF citizens are squeaky wheels.
Commentator – I have to disagree with you. I have two vacant lots next to my house. I have tried to report both addresses on the Citizens Request forms only to get a response that the issue has already been reported for that address. I e-mailed the city and received a response that they would send somebody out. I have called the city twice to report the grass being over 3 feet tall and still nobody from the city has come out nor addressed the issue. In the 3 years that I have lived at my residence these lots have been mowed 6 times and that number is that high because someone purchased the second lot last year and actually mowed it 4 times last year.
Yeah, I have to agree with rm. I have 9 empty lots (yes, that’s right, 9) on my block and 8 of them are never mowed unless we mow them despite our continual citizens requests and phone calls to property maintenance. And, yes, I have contacted our Councilwoman. The ninth lot is mowed by the couple who live next door to it and they don’t own it.
The citizen’s request that I submitted almost a month ago gives a date in late August as the estimated time of compliance. By then, I might as well just let the winter frost kill the weeds back.
I’d really like to see the “spot blight” initiative target these eye sores and seize these lots by eminent domain. I’m pretty sure at least one of the lots is owned by a dead person.
I forgot about this good tidbit. One of the lots is for sale,and the sign was obscured by 3 foot grass so we called the real estate agent and told him if he wants to sell the lot he needs to cut the grass. So, he/she comes over and tears away the grass just around the sign!
My experience with the complaint system is very different – I’ve had a lot of success with it, including on a grassy overgrown lot complaint. I guess my only advice is blast the h*ll out of the Citizen’s Request site with your complaints, and also complain about the lack of a response. The City will eventually mow it and charge the owner.
the lot next to me has been in the possession of the city since 2000 as the owner is dead. I just entered another CR online and the estimated completion date is Sept. 5, 2007.
I haven’t heard anymore about the “spot blight” initiative. I know that the first way on south side kind of blew up in the cities face. I am friends with the family that were called out on the stucco damage on there garage. At least from my perspective the city needs to focus on the major offenders first then go to the nit picky things.
If you don’t get any response from your council person or the online citizen complaint forms, call the mayor’s office and carefully outline all you’ve done to address the situation and that none of your efforts have been met with any action.
I think it’s interesting that you said the lot was “in the possession of the City”. It shows how the City is really not doing a good job of letting people know how the process works.
No property is in the possession of the City unless the City owns it. I think you’ll find that the lot in question is not in the City’s possession, even if it is flagged for foreclosure or the City is the one mowing/cleaning it. There is still some private person out there who is ultimately responsible for the mess.
If you choose to follow up with the City on your complaints, be sure to note your tracking numbers.
That’s funny- I’m trying to buy a foreclosed house and all the property managers will do is mow the lawn. The back door’s been kicked in and standing wide open for over 2 weeks without repair. But they have mowed the lawn since the door’s been kicked in.
Oh we are avid users of the online and phone based complaint lines… but like someone said.. it could take weeks, then months for the owners or finally the city to step in and mow.. The clincher for me is that the church KNOWS this is their lot and knows it needs to be mowed- we call and tell them. Do they just choose not to care?? I just find it frustrating that these faith-based institutions are supposed to be pillars of our community and are negligent and downright lazy. So the next time you are by the Temple of Judah- tell em to get their John Deere out and head on over to do their chores!!
I agree that we do not need another church on that block. We already have three churches within three blocks of 29th and Q. I would like to see something that would generate tax money and create a good employment opportunity.
And I have to agree with many of you that the City is very, VERY slow in responding to the online requests for mowing tall grass and other requests. I have four properties (1012-1018 N 32nd) that I’ve been contacting the city about since October 06. Each of the properties has a citation posted because the owner is using the abandoned houses as his mailing address and that is only way the citations could be delivered. I asked the city about what the next steps were and was told it’s the inspector’s discretion on what to do next. I’ve also contact a friend at our police precinct because each of the abandoned homes have been opened and people are using the locations. Unfortunately, it looks like most of them are using the places to get high. But the police have not closed up the buildings yet, but I was told they would.
Well… it IS Church Hill! But I don’t particularly favor turning this building into a church while there are vacant churches. Why not a theater? Is it too much to ask for Church Hill to have a theater??????
It will not be a church. I know the new owners. It will be a mixed use of dance, thearter, community events and youth center. It will aslo be able to be rented for special events.
The Robinson Theater marquee is now up. The guys have been working on it the last two days. Looks really good!
Todd… with the movie marquee back up des that mean it is being turned back into a theater? While taking pictures did you ask the contractors working what is going on?
Too bad they can’t get the Johnson’s off their ass and do something with the East End Theater! The clincher here is that The Robinson is owned by the same people!!! (includes Kathryn Wiley)
There is an outstanding contract permit pending due to zoning with no determined use of the building yet given until approval. Appears zoning was waiting for for certification that the marquee is “historic” before designating the zoning spec on it. But an earlier permit issued in June says the building is to be used as a Museum / Art Gallery.
Here is some history on the Robinson Theater for those who asked:
The following paragraph is from the National Register of Historic Places Survey conducted in 1997 of structures in Richmond, VA’s Church Hill neighborhood: Robinson Theater 2903: Theater (Robinsob ca. 1938. Brick, 5-course American Bond, Bstory,facade, Flat-roofed, Art Deco, contributing-
“The final icon of the transformation of this section of Church Hill into a middle class African-American neighborhood is the Robinson Theater. The Robinson Theater was built in 1936 at2903 Q Street by the Hill Amusement Corporation as a ‘colored’ theater. The builders were James Foxand Sons and thearchitect vms Edward F. Sinnott. Sinnott had no formal architecturaltraining but he worked for several Richmondfirms before securing his registration in 1925. After1925, he was associated with W. Duncan Lee and later with Luther P. Harbook. He established his independent practice by 1930 and specialized in school and institutional design andrestoration work.” The new theater was named for Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, a native son, born in Jackson Wardon 25 May 1878.
Eric
The architect, Edward Sinnott, also designed a Deco bank building at 616 East Franklin, which helped it qualify for being included in the Grace Street Historic district. My family has owned it for a while and I never knew what other buildings he had designed, it’s nice to know that there’s one in the neighborhood.