Pearis Theater - Pearisburg, VA
Posted by: 
Thorny1
N 37° 19.566 W 080° 44.095
17S E 523484 N 4131081
The old Pearis Theater located at 111 S Main St, Pearisburg, VA 24134.
Waymark Code: WM4ATK
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/30/2008
Views: 75
Pearis Theater. 1940. Art Deco, 2-story, concrete block (stucco finish), shed roof (lobby, office), gable roof (auditorium), L-shape plan, 2-bay facade (with monumental piers, decorative panel), trapezoidal marquee with neon and incandescent lights, inset entry, shallow barrel vault in lobby. Built by the Star Amusement Company in Witten Building, 111-115 S Main St.
It is listed as having 1 screen and 500 seats.
(from the Roanoke Va Times)
The doors of Pearisburg Theater open again
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
New management at theater wants to raise money to buy the building for a youth arts center.
By Joshua A. DeLung
Special to The Roanoke Times
The old Pearis Theater on Main Street in Pearisburg has not been used as a movie theater for more than 20 years. Now a Narrows High School teacher has "an open-ended option to buy the theater."
PEARISBURG -- After a period of silence, the halls of the Pearis Theater are ringing with the sounds of music and laughter once again.
The theater, built in 1939, is still for sale, but a recent agreement has its doors reopened.
The rustic building has not been used as a movie theater for more than 20 years. Bill and Sylvia Fleener purchased it in 1992, fulfilling their goals of hosting live music, theatrical performances, gospel music and karaoke contests. Throughout the past year, several nonprofits were interested in finding ways to buy the theater, which the Fleeners had to put up for sale when they moved to Texas. It had been about three years since any performances took place in the theater, but that changed June 13.
Karen Letts, a Narrows High School math teacher with an interest in the arts, decided to manage a performance of "The Three Musketeers" at the Pearis Theater in June, a reproduction of the play she helped children from the area put on at her high school in May. Letts was able to get the play into downtown Pearisburg through an agreement with the Fleeners.
"I have an open-ended option to buy the theater," said Letts. "The kids want this, so if the community and businesses will back us, we will be successful."
Letts said it could take a long time to raise enough money to be able to buy the building outright, and getting community support could be difficult.
"People have seen this theater open and close so many times, so they are waiting to see what will happen," she said. "Donations are tough to get, so I have to prove to them that I can do it."
Letts' husband had spoken with the Fleeners about opening the theater's doors again and persuaded his wife to take on the project. She said that she knew immediately she needed to bring some sort of income in if she were going to open the doors, and the "Musketeers" play was the quickest and cheapest way because everything had already been put together for it once.
"We had opened the Fort Bend Theatre in Texas, and we said we'd never do it again," said Letts. "We just need this in Giles County so badly, so here we are. The kids need this, and I think we can do more than plays -- band jams, beauty pageants, movies and more."
Letts still is working to make sure the building is ready to pass inspection, and she hopes some electricians and plumbers will volunteer to help with the process. She said she hopes to use her experience with running nonprofits to do something that will build self-esteem and self-confidence for children in the New River Valley. No new performances are scheduled yet, but Letts hopes that will change soon.
"This is not for me, it's for the kids. I'm just making sure things get done," she said. "This is not my theater, it's your theater -- the community's theater."
Year Theater Opened: 1940
Number of Screen(s): 1
Web site: [Web Link]
Ticket Price (local currency): Not Listed
Matinee Price (local currency): Not Listed
Concessions Available: Not Listed
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