By Matt de Simone
Behind the plywood, exposed framing and construction equipment, the future of the Buchanan Theatre is beginning to take shape.
The historic Main Street theatre is roughly 40% through a major renovation that will preserve much of the building’s original structure while transforming its interior into a modern, flexible community venue.
Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt, provided a tour of the ongoing work Thursday alongside Adam McBryde, chairman of Standing Room Only, the non-profit organization behind the theatre project, and local contractor Mark Dunbar.
While the finished building will look significantly different inside, the goal is to retain the character and history that have made the theatre a part of Buchanan for generations.
“The front of the building, we’re trying to leave as intact as possible,” Austin said.
The theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Austin said, creating an additional consideration as the renovation team works to modernize the building without stripping away its historic character.
Much of the original structure will remain, including brick walls, floors, roof elements and massive original floor joists.
McBryde pointed out the 2-by-12 floor joists running approximately 30 feet through portions of the building.
“They don’t make trees like that anymore,” he noted.
Rather than completely gutting the building, the project is largely adding modern materials and systems around the original structure. Insulation is being added to walls that previously had none, and new drywall will replace older lath-and-plaster interior finishes.
The changes inside the auditorium, however, will be substantial.
Five rows of seats – approximately 40 seats – have been removed from the front portion of the theatre. The area will be flattened to create a flexible space that can accommodate folding chairs, tables, children’s birthday parties and other events.
The theatre also will eventually receive new seating, including wider seats and cupholders, as part of a planned capital campaign. The new configuration will allow the project to regain some of the lost seating by adding additional rows.
Accessibility also is being significantly improved.
Plans call for wheelchair spaces within the auditorium, an ADA-compliant lift to the stage and new ADA-compliant restrooms. A new restroom is also being constructed in the backstage area so performers and staff will not have to leave the backstage area to use a restroom. The stage itself is being extended farther into the rear of the building, gaining roughly 4-1/2 feet of depth, with additional space gained at the front.
The result will be a considerably larger stage, Austin said.
The renovation also addresses one of the theatre’s longstanding problems: its limited backstage space.
The expanded rear portion will include dressing rooms, a green room, a kitchen, laundry facilities and an ADA-compliant restroom. The layout will allow performers and staff to move through the backstage area without disrupting activities in the auditorium. McBryde said the expanded facilities will make it possible to bring smaller theatrical productions to Buchanan, including potential performances from the Barter Theatre and other groups.
The building will not have the traditional wings required for large theatrical productions, so its live-performance capabilities will be geared more toward smaller productions, one-act plays, recitals and school performances.
That flexibility is intentional. The theatre is being designed to accommodate much more than movies. Concerts, community events, children’s activities, school productions, recitals and other performances could all become part of its future.
The projection screen will be retractable, allowing the building to transition between movies and live performances without major changes to the space.
“Venues change a lot,” McBryde said. “We want to be very adaptable.”
The renovation also expands the lobby and concession areas.
A new merchandise area will provide space for visiting performers to sell shirts, albums and other merchandise. Austin said the additional lobby space also has a business purpose: rather than immediately sending patrons into the auditorium, the theatre will give them room to gather and spend time at the concession stand.
That could create an additional source of revenue for the nonprofit while also making the theatre more useful for touring performers.
McBryde said the theatre could potentially attract performers who are willing to play for little or no fee if they have the opportunity to sell merchandise. The expanded backstage facilities could also allow performers to stay overnight in Buchanan rather than having to find accommodations elsewhere.
For Dunbar, the renovation has presented the challenges typical of working on an old building: discovering what is hidden behind walls and beneath floors only after construction begins.
The project has encountered rotten material and other surprises, but Dunbar and the renovation team said nothing discovered so far has created a major setback.
“You never know, between door number one, two or three, you’re going to find mice, you’re going to find termites, you’re going to find rotten walls,” McBryde said.
Dunbar, whose family has longstanding ties to Botetourt County, is leading the construction with a largely local team of contractors and tradespeople.
Austin and McBryde repeatedly praised the local contractors for their involvement in the project and their willingness to work with the renovation team as unexpected issues arise. One of the biggest remaining construction challenges is the roof and ensuring the expanded portion of the building remains weatherproof. Once the building is weathered in, plumbing, HVAC and electrical work can move forward more quickly, Austin said.
The project is currently expected to be completed next year.
Funding remains a major part of the theatre’s future. Austin said existing funds are sufficient to cover the basic project, but additional money will be needed for interior improvements that are not included in the current construction.
Standing Room Only plans to launch a capital fundraising campaign to help fund those improvements, including new theatre seating and other interior upgrades.
The organization has deliberately kept much of the renovation out of the public eye while the project progressed.
“We sort of kept it quiet to the point of, let’s get the project about halfway through,” Austin said.
With construction now approaching that point, the group plans to begin publicly promoting the project and its capital campaign.
For those involved, the renovation is about more than restoring an old movie theatre.
Throughout the project, residents have stopped at the construction site to share memories of the building – stories about seeing movies there as children, working at the theatre and even living upstairs.
McBryde said that response demonstrates the role the building has played in Buchanan.
“It is a central point in town,” he said. “It’s something to do. It’s a very important thing.”
The hope is that the renovated theatre will give future generations a place to make similar memories. Austin said the goal is to maintain the experiences people associate with the Buchanan Theatre while bringing the facility into the modern era.
“We want it to have the same functionality so that people can have the same experiences that they’ve had for generations,” he said.
That could mean a movie on a Saturday afternoon, a local school recital, a small play, a concert or a community celebration. Austin offered the Fourth of July as one example. Rather than holding all of the day’s activities outdoors, the renovated theatre could provide a venue for readings, musical performances or other programming before residents continue on to other festivities.
For McBryde, the most important part of the project may be giving local children and performers a place to begin.
“We’d love to have kids up here end up on Broadway one day,” he explained. “Who knows what could happen.”
For now, the Buchanan Theatre remains a construction site, but beneath the construction, much of the original building remains. And if the renovation team’s plans come together, the theatre will soon be ready to write another chapter in Buchanan’s history.
