I originally selected the topic of Black theaters with 

plans of doing research on the great Attucks Theatre in 

Norfolk, Virginia.  However, that theater already had much of

its history documented.  Instead, I was given three other 

theaters.  The Bland, Capitol, and Lyric Theaters, as I 

discovered, needed quite a lot research done.  I found it 

disappointingly outrageous that there was not a lot of 

written information on these places.  It only shows how, in my

given researched time frame of 1920 to 1945, the events of 

the Black community were overlooked and were not given much 

attention. This research paper is designed to bring to life 

the history of African American movie theaters and the role 

they played in the community in Portsmouth, Virginia, and in 

essence, perhaps the revitalization of other facts of Black 

life in the city.  This preface also serves to make readers 

aware that the words “theater” and “theatre” may be used 

interchangeably.  Also, all interview notes, audio tape, and 

present-day theater pictures are in the author’s possession.
 

     In my quest for knowledge, I must recognize those who 

participated in making this a great paper and a valuable 

source of information for other researchers.  To all who were 

interviewed — from those I interviewed on the street, to 

those whom by telephone assisted, to those who were inter- 

viewed in formal settings — thank you.  Mrs. Mae 

Breckenridge-Haywood and Mrs. Bertha Edwards, former 

Portsmouth librarians, shared with me picture sources and the 

only written document on any of the theaters.  Marcella Curry 

at the Virginia State Library provided me with the first map 

of the movie houses.  Other acknowledgements go to Norma 

Johnson, Edith Carmichael, Barnabas Baker and the Portsmouth 

Public Library, City of Portsmouth Assessor’s Office, Meyer’s 

and Tabakin Furniture, Sarah Brown (Olde Towne Portsmouth 

tour guide), Bessie Liverman (Club Deporres), and the many 

others who helped in any way they could.
 

     An extra special acknowledgment and thank you is sent to

Elois F. Butler who was there when the research got tough, my 

brilliant website engineers, Jeffrey Gayle and Angela 

Cogdell, and the Master Socrates. 
 
 

harsh experiences during the era of the 1920s, 1930s, and 

1940s.  The list of experiences included Jim Crow laws,the 

Great Depression, and Ku Klux Klan terror. These trials,

among many more, struck at the heart of Blacks in 

Portsmouth, Virginia as well.  Although everyone had the 

legal right to vote, Jim Crow made it possible for whites 

to virtually eliminate the Black electorates through 

tactics of poll taxes, literacy tests, the grandfather 

clause, and threats or acts of terror.¹   The 1896 “Separate 

but Equal” doctrine set rules about separate education, 

transportation seating, and recreational facilities such as 

parks, beaches, dance halls, bowling alleys, and movie 

theaters  for Blacks and Whites.²   Indeed, activities were 

separate, but they certainly were not equal.  Jobs and wages 

are additional examples of inequality.  White men were given 

skilled labor jobs at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, a major 

source of income for the city and surrounding areas, in 

Portsmouth while a token number of Black men were allowed 

the opportunity to train for skilled positions and better 

pay.  Thus, they were given the menial employment of 

stevedores, storekeepers, and general helpers, with only a 

few in skilled positions.³   While Black women continued to 

work demeaning domestic service and laundry jobs for almost 

no pay, White women were given factory and secretarial 

positions.  An example of wage disparities can be found in 

the salaries of Portsmouth’s elementary school teachers.  In 

a 1930-1931 comparison of average salaries of Black and White 

teachers in public schools, White males received $1,950 and 

White females received $1,448 annually.  While Black female 

teachers earned $959 per year, no information is available 

on the salaries of Black male instructors.⁴ 
 

     Times grew harder for those in Portsmouth who were 

already struggling before the devastating winds of the Great 

Depression blew.  As quoted by Clifford Burke in John 

Faragher’s Out of Many:  “The Negro was born in 

Depression.”⁵   At the end of a grinding workweek, Blacks 

looked forward to spending time with family and friends at 

home, church, and recreational facilities.  While the home 

furnished a loving atmosphere and the church provide

spiritual rejuvenation, recreational avenues catered to the 

enjoyment of life and freedom of entertainment.  Even though 

times were difficult, Blacks found many constructive means to 

vent their frustrations.  Creating art, composing music, and 

patronizing local entertainment halls such as movie theaters 

are a few examples. 
 

     Black theaters have had a strong impact on African 

Americans and have greatly affected many aspects of the 

surrounding community.  This researcher seeks to explore the 

role of three Black theaters in Portsmouth, Virginia, and 

their effect on the Black community.  The three theaters are 

the Bland,  the Capitol and the Lyric.  The researched time 

frame is 1920 through 1945.  Much of the information in this 

paper was derived from original sources such as interviews of 

several senior citizens who frequented these theaters, maps, 

newspaper advertisements and articles.  Secondary sources are 

used to describe the general time frame.  This paper will 

also provide a written account of the history of the Bland, 

Capitol, and Lyric since very limited information is recorded 

about these theaters, thus adding valuable knowledge to 

Portsmouth’s Black history collection for future generations.
 

     As with other aspects of Black life in Portsmouth, Black 

theaters had to wait until the White theaters had viewed 

them.  The Bland, Capitol, and Lyric were all Jewish owned, 

but were exclusively for Blacks.  In a world of Jim Crowism, 

movie-goers rode in the back of the streetcars and buses for 

seven cents as second class citizens until they reached their 

destination at the movies in Black Downtown Portsmouth where 

everyone was treated the same.  In the community surrounding 

the theaters, crime was minimal during that time.  A few 

incidents were cited, such a robbing buses, and petty fights 

among men disputing over a street gambling game.  In general, 

Portsmouth was a safe area in which one could walk down the 

streets and never worry about someone bothering him or her.⁶ 
 
 

     The Bland, Capitol, and Lyric Theaters were a source of 

employment and congregation.  The theaters were built for the 

soldiers, longshoremen, and shipyard workers who worked hard 

during the day and needed a place to relax at night and on 

weekends.⁷   Most of the teenagers attended I.C. Norcom High 

School and gathered at the movies on the weekends.  People 

went to the movies as a major source of entertainment as well 

as to support charity and social functions.  Movies were 

advertised in local yearbooks, flyers and posters around 

town, and newspapers such as the Norfolk Journal and Guide

that even extended into Richmond.  By 1942, all three 

theaters had a telephone in operation which enhanced business

opportunities.⁸  The theaters showed a myriad of film types:  

silent films, “talkies,” technicolor films, and “serials.”  

Serials, or chapters, were a set of Western cowboy movies 

shown at the Bland and Capitol such as “Lone Ranger” that 

ran for about 12 to 16 weeks.⁹  During the years of World War 

II, serials were usually war movies such as “Holt of the 

Secret Service, Ch. 13” (1942), and “Jr. G-men of the Air, 

No. 9” (1943).¹⁰  It was fairly inexpensive to go to the 

movies.  A patron could by a ticket, popcorn, soda, candy, 

and a hotdog, all for less than one dollar. 
 

     A closer examination of the Bland, Capitol, and Lyric 

theaters reveal vast differences, yet several similarities.  

The Bland Theater was located at 831 High Street, formerly 

part of Sutton’s Furniture store before it was turned into a 

movie house in 1942.¹¹ It was part of the Jewish Lichtman

movie chain whose headquarters was in Washington, D.C.¹²  The 

Bland showed mostly westerns at 25 cents, said Josephine 

Felder, whose father took her to see them.¹³  The theater 

also ran popular movies such as “Wuthering Heights” (1939), 

“Gone With the Wind” (1939), and “The Apache Kid” (1942), 

some of which were so well received at the theater that the 

movie returned for a second showing.¹⁴  Mrs. Mae Pipher sold 

hotdogs, candy, popcorn, and drinks at the concession stand 

for five to ten cents.¹⁵  It was not as large as the Capitol 

and not well patronized, but it managed to fill its 500 or so 

seats from time to time, as told by an avid movie patron at 

the time, Vivian Watts.¹⁶  The Bland shared “split shift” 

employees with the Capitol, in which some of the workers 

would spend mornings to afternoons at the Capitol, take a one 

or two hour break, and work at the Bland to finish out the 

night.¹⁷   Mrs. Nalls and Raymond Turner were part of the 

split shift crew.
 

     Like the Bland, the Capitol was also owned by the 

Lichtman franchise.  Located at 608 Effingham Street, the 

entrance was toward the middle of the block, between Kin and 

County Streets, across from the Jewish synagogue.  The 

building had an odd structure, in that the front doors faced 

Effingham Street, and the back of the theater was wrapped 

around behind the pool hall (to the right of the entrance) 

facing King Street.¹⁸   Helen Mack, sister of former manager 

Raymond Turner, recalled a pot belly stove being used to heat 

the 800-900 seat theater during the 1920s and 1930s.¹⁹  The 

Capitol held the top rank of the three theaters.  Opened in 

December 1925, the Capitol was the first, the classiest, and

most popular.²⁰  Mrs. Watts claimed it had the interior style 

of an opera house.  It had a balcony from which long term 

projectionist James Prunty ran the projector and changed the 

reels.  Two female employees sold tickets while a doorman 

took the ticket and led patrons to the ushers, who then 

guided them to their seat of choice along the three long 

aisles.  It was the only theater to have talent night and 

stage shows featuring famous singers and bands, much like the 

Apollo Theatre in New York City. Portsmouth’s own Ruth Brown 

started her career on Friday’s amateur night stage.  Along 

with singing at Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Sundays, she also 

sang at the theater on Friday’s and won whenever she 

competed.  Local David Sanford recalled singing for amateur 

night in the 1930s, at which top prize was $5.00.²¹  A young 

man known as “Long Distance” (because he had a long sloping

face) performed comedy acts and won whenever he competed.  

Stars such as Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong, 

Dinah Washington, and Cab Calloway graced the stage at 

“Midnight Shows” for $1.00 admission.  “The night shows were 

excellent,” said Mrs. Pipher who reflected when she heard 

Dinah Washington’s “Cold, Cold Heart.” The Capitol showed 

first rate movies, that is, of course, after the White 

theaters had viewed them.  Prices ranged from 10-25 cents for 

regular movies such as “Cleopatra” and “Imitation of Life” 

(1935),²²  and 10-12 cents for kids during the Saturday 

morning “serials.”  Mr. Sanford recollected as a youngster 

“riding the seats” in the theater as cowboys would do on 

their horses.  The Capitol was ranked the top Black theater 

in Portsmouth by all who were interviewed because it was more 

deluxe, up to date, and better kept than the Bland and Lyric.

It was considered the landmark for Black theaters and 

competed for top honors in the area with the Booker-T and 

Regal theaters in Norfolk.  The attire of the employees added 

to the ambiance of the theater.  Managers wore business suits,

sometimes with capes and white gloves.  According to Mrs. 

Nalls, ushers and ticket sellers wore regular clothes of 

shirts and slacks or blouse and skirt.  Mrs. Mack said the 

doormen wore royal blue suits with red braids on the 

shoulders, reversible capes (royal blue on one side and red 

on the other), white gloves, and blue caps with a bill on 

them.  Under the management of John C. White, Peter Wood, 

Marc Terrell and others, the Capitol continued to draw crowds 

even during the tumultuous Depression years.²³  In the 1940s 

the theater was still strong in patronage, although the 1943 

murder of Mr. Terrell in the Capitol may have dampened ticket 

purchases and the spirits of the attendees immediately 

following.  Helen Mack was a witness standing in line to 

purchase a ticket for “Casablanca.”  Everyone knew that 

around 9:30 p.m. the manager would pick up the money from the 

ticket booth and carry it upstairs to count it.  As she 

remembered, a native Portsmouth Black man, along with a White 

woman from New York, had the intention of robbing Terrell and 

escaping away with the cash.  Apparently, scuffling within 

the theater commenced before shots rang out and Terrell was 

on the floor.  The assailant ran but the patrons tackled and 

held him until the police came.  Katie Nalls recalled coming 

back to the theater after work to see the movie with a 

friend.  Inside the theater where she was, there was com- 

motion and confusion in the back before shots were fired. 

Unfortunately, Terrell died a few days later.  Afterward, 

former doorman and assistant manager Charles Dean became 

manager.  Although this was an unwonted crime, the incident 

stood out as part of the Capitol’s history.
 
 

     The Lyric Theater opened at the corner of Chestnut and 

Queen Streets in 1939, beside Zedd’s Drug Store and around 

the corner from Pilzer’s Department store on High Street.²⁴   

Pilzer’s and Zedd’s were also Jewish owned.  It showed “B” 

class movies for about 15 cents, said movie-goer Richard 

Cary, who also remembered a “hot blast stove” in the middle 

of the theater for heat.²⁵   The seats cascaded around the 

stove in the small theater.  A fire soon destroyed the 

building, trapping reel operator Joe Hall inside.²⁶  The 

second Lyric Theater was located at 907 High Street across 

from present-day Oasis Social Ministries, which feeds the 

homeless, formerly Weston’s Barber Shop.  It was locally 

owned by Saul Soroko, who also owned a grocery store beside 

the High Street Lyric.  Here, the managers wore business 

suits and the doormen wore black capes, military-style hats, 

and white gloves.  According to Mrs. Watts, the Chestnut 

Street Lyric was the smallest of the three theaters and 

housed about 175 seats.²⁷  The High Street Lyric was about

the same size as the Bland.  Katie Nalls also worked here in 

the 1940s under manager John Bunch.
 

     The Bland, Capitol, and Lyric Theaters contributed much 

to the economy of Portsmouth from 1925 to 1945.  They also 

greatly impacted the Black community.  Although the theaters’ 

primary function was entertainment, they went beyond that 

call and helped the community.  The Capitol sponsored an 

annual movie and candy Christmas party for children under 12, 

and it allowed churches and other social organizations to 

sponsor food drives and fund raisers in the building.  Local 

schools used the theater for graduation ceremonies.²⁸  The 

Capitol, in conjunction with the Booker-T, sponsored a summer 

school contest, where the person who sold the most movie 

tickets to a particular show won free tuition and expenses to 

two summer school session at the Norfolk Unit, Virginia Union 

University.²⁹   The Bland and the Lyric often did the same,

offering a movie for the admission price of an article of 

clothing or canned goods around the holidays. 
 

     The question may be asked, ”Why was there a lack of 

Black ownership of theaters in Portsmouth?”, considering the 

effect that Blacks had on the Bland, Capitol, and Lyric 

theaters and vice versa.  An article in the Norfolk Journal 

and Guide made a model of theaters in New York City, with 

all- and nearly all-Black patronage, to be practically applied

to all theaters that did not have Black owners.³⁰  The race- 

conscious journalist, Edgar Rouzeau, wrote that the Jews, who 

owned most of the theaters in New York City--  including the 

Apollo Theatre— “also owned or controlled the film production 

colonies on individual owners by circulating better pictures 

only to their own establishments.”  Thus, even if a man of 

color was able to purchase his own theater, he would not have 

the money to buy big films first hand for his theater, and 

the theater would ultimately fail.  On the other hand,  

Blacks probably failed to see their overall impact on the 

theaters’ financial status in Portsmouth as well as 

nationally; rather, they looked at theaters simply as a 

source of entertainment.
 

     It was not until integration through the Brown v. Board 

of Education case of 1954 that the three previously mentioned 

theaters started losing business.³¹  Blacks migrated to the 

White theaters in Portsmouth— Commodore, Colony, State, and 

Virginia — because they had better equipment, and more modern 

movies.  In addition, the advent of television in the 1950s 

kept many movie attendants home.  Financial problems menaced 

the three Black theaters until they eventually closed.  The 

Capitol was demolished in the 1980s, leaving a legacy only in 

the minds of those who remember its glory days.  Today, the 

lot is a plot of green grass.  The Bland’s internal walls 

were broken to form a larger furniture store, currently 

Meyers and Tabakin Furniture.  The present Lyric building is 

dilapidated with no roof.  Club Deporres, a non-profit 

charity and social organization, owns the building and is 

attempting a restoration project.
 

     In conclusion, the emergence and long-time existence of 

the Bland, Capital, and Lyric theaters left an indelible mark 

in the memories of the seniors interviewed as well as in 

Portsmouth’s history.  These theaters impacted the community 

socially and economically, providing entertainment and 

employment.  Furthermore, they supported community efforts 

through charitable functions. 
 
 

        1.  Darlene Clark Hine and others, The African-American Odyssey, Volume Two:  Since 1863 (Upper Saddle  River:  Prentice-Hall Inc.,  2000), 312-314.
        2.  Beth Henschen and Edward Sidlow, America at Odds:  the Essentials (Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999), 126.  The United States Supreme Court held that segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as long as Black and White facilities and institutions were equal in Plessy v. Ferguson.
      3.  Jane H. Kobelski, ed.  Readings in Black and White:  Lower Tidewater Virginia (Portsmouth, VA:  Portsmouth Public Library, 1982), 57.
       4.  Ibid.  “Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” 78.  There is probably no information available on Black male elementary teachers because there were too few to average. 
      5.  John Mack Faragher and others, Out of Many:  A History of the American People (Upper Saddle River:  Prentice-Hall Inc., 1994), 743. 
      6.  Katie Nalls, interview by author, 8 November 2001, Portsmouth (VA), tape recording.  Audiotape is in the author’s possession.  Mrs. Nalls worked at all three theaters for a total of 14 years.
      7.  Robert Wentz, Portsmouth:  A Pictorial History (Virginia Beach:  The Donning Company, 1975), 18.  Norfolk and surrounding area was a heavily populated region since the migration of workers from West Virginia, North Carolina and other states, to work at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.  In chapter two of Earl Lewis’ In Their Own Interests, he also speaks of the migration of longshoremen and shipyard workers to the Tidewater area.
      8.  Portsmouth and Norfolk City Directory, Special Collections, Virginia History Room, Portsmouth Public Library, 1942. 
      9.  Bertha Edwards, “History of Capitol Theater,” A History of Blacks in Portsmouth, vol. 1., Special Collections, Virginia History Room, Portsmouth Public Library.
    10.  Norfolk Journal and Guide, 4 July 1942, 3 April 1943.  These movie titles were taken from picture advertisements on pages 20 and 17, respectively.
    11.  Portsmouth and Norfolk City Directory, 1942.
    12.  “Lichtman Manager Heads Drive for Bethune-Cookman,” Norfolk Journal and Guide, 10 September 1939, 5.
    13.  Josephine Felder, interview by author, 4 November 2001, Chesapeake (VA), telephone.
    14.  Norfolk Journal and Guide, 3 June 1939, 4 July 1942.  These movie titles were taken from picture advertisements.  “Gone With the Wind” was so popular when it first previewed in 1939, it was brought back to the Bland theater for another show in 1942. 
    15.  Mae Bazemore Parker Pipher, interview by author, 2 November 2001, Chesapeake, telephone. 
    16.  Vivian Watts, interview by author, 2 November 2001, Chesapeake, telephone.
    17.  Katie Nalls.
    18.  Virginia Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, October 1943 (New York:  Sanborn Map Company, 1920), 38.
    19.  Helen Mack, interview by author, 4 November 2001, Chesapeake, telephone.
    20.  Norfolk Journal and Guide, 29 December 1925, 12.
    21.  David Sanford, interview by author, 3 November 2001, Chesapeake, telephone.  Mr. Sanford is a retired Crestwood and Deep Creek High School music teacher who attended I.C. Norcom High School with  Ruth Brown.  They also entertained soldiers at the local United Service Organization.
    22.  Norfolk Journal and Guide, 9 February 1935, 15.
    23.  The manager’s names were taken from Bertha Edwards’ article on the history of the Capitol Theater.
    24.  Portsmouth and Norfolk City Directory, Special Collections, Virginia History Room, Portsmouth Public Library, 1939.
    25.  Richard Carey, interview by author, 3 November 2001, Chesapeake, telephone.
    26.  Arthur Jones, interview by author, 8 November 2001, Portsmouth, informal street interview.  Joe Hall was Mr. Jones’ uncle.  Mr. Jones himself also sang on amateur night at the Capitol Theater.
    27.  This bit of information may be inaccurate. 
    28.  Bertha Edwards, “A History of Capitol Theater.”
    29.  “Miss Ruth Green Wins First Place in Theatre Contest,” Norfolk Journal and Guide, 17 June 1939, 16. 
    30.  “Star Dust” by Edgar T. Rouzeau.  Norfolk Journal and Guide, 28 October 1939, 18. 
    31.    Darlene Clark Hine and others, The African-American Odyssey, Volume Two:  Since 1863 (Upper Saddle River:  Prentice-Hall Inc., 2000), 489.  The Untied States Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954.  The decision had a positive effect in that Black students were then able to receive the same education as White students.  Business like the Bland, Capitol, and Lyric theaters that catered almost solely to the Black community were negatively affected because Blacks began to frequent new territory (White stores, theaters, etc.).