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Background
The Friends of the Pulaski Theatre, Ltd. is a volunteer organization consisting of a group of volunteers organized under IRS § Code 501 (c) 3 and incorporated in 1993, for the sole purposes of saving one of the Town’s key assets from destruction, preserving an important piece of local history and restoring and returning the Theatre to operation.
The Theatre came into being as a vaudeville house in 1911 known as “The Elks Theater.” It succeeded “opera houses” in the Gar-Moore-Hunt Building (destroyed by fire in 1910) and, prior to the turn of the 20 th Century, in the Bank and Trust Building on the corner of Commerce and Valley Streets. During the Great Depression, the Theatre became the Dix-Richardson Dry Goods Store.
In 1937, The Pulaski Theatre, “The Showplace of Southwest Virginia,” opened its doors with the film, “The Awful Truth,” with Irene Dunn and Cary Grant. As with the rest of Main Street, The Pulaski Theatre thrived in the 1950’s and 60’s. The Theatre finally went dark in 1991.
What The Friends Have Accomplished
- Obtained debt-free ownership of the Theatre Building
- Elected a strong and committed Board of Directors
- Hired an Executive Director
- Focused on a manageable project
- Developed a Business Plan
- Completed architectural plans
- Hired a Project Manager
- Completed necessary demolition
- Ordered HVAC equipment – preparing for installation
- Received financial support from:
- Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources
- The C.E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation
- Local governments
- Coca Cola Bottling Co.
- Local donors