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THE HOOK
REAL ESTATE- On the Block- Done up: Total restoration wins prize
Published December 1, 2005 in issue 0448 of the Hook
HISTORIC STAUNTON FOUNDATION
33rd Annual Christmas House Tour
Originally published November, 2005
This Article
Owners: Renovated Visulite
readying for Dec. opening
Theater's new act begins
By David Royer/staff droyer@newsleader.com
Originally published November 14, 2005
STAUNTON — The projectors at the old Visulite theater will glow again by December, its owners say, marking the first time the 69-year-old movie house has hosted a film in 15 years.
More than 100 people packed the Visulite for Historic Staunton Foundation's annual preservation awards ceremony Sunday, getting a peek at the project in the process. Foundation members sat on folding chairs amid the bare Sheetrock walls and exposed ceiling fixtures in the unfinished building.
Though owners Adam and Shelah Greenbaum said they will miss their fall target for opening, the Visulite has come a long way since renovation inside the structure began almost exactly one year ago.
"When we bought the place, it was literally raining inside the building," Shelah Greenbaum said.
A new roof was the couple's first step toward stabilizing the building, which had undergone several occupants and periods of vacancy since showing its last film around 1990, she said. But the heavy work is done and now mostly details — like seating — remain.
When the first of two screens opens in December, it will hold seating for 175. A second 130-seat screen should open in the spring.
Adam Greenbaum said his experience writing for an independent film that received critical acclaim but never found distribution, led him to open his own movie house, where he could support indy and foreign films that might otherwise get overlooked by most viewers. His search for the perfect theater led him from his home in New York to the Visulite in Staunton in October.
"There is a market out there that is not being served," he said. Admission for movies will likely be about $7.50.
Harriet Hanger, touring the Visulite on Sunday, said she was excited to see the rebirth of the movie house where she and her brother spent much of their youth watching films in the 1940s and '50s. Though the Visulite will face some competition from the historic Dixie Theater down the street, Hanger was optimistic about its success.
Awards for Achievement
Historic Staunton Foundation presented its annual awards at the Visulite theater Sunday.
Commercial Rehabilitation: Stonewall Jackson Hotel
Total Residential Restoration: 118 Prospect St., Circa 1700 Builders, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Goode
Residential Special Project: The Stuart House, 120 Church St., owned by Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Cochran
Restoration Craftsmanship: Frazier Associates Architects and Planners
Volunteer of the Year: Logan Ward
Staunton Heritage Preservation awards: The Newtown Business Guild, The Newtown Neighborhood Association and Katherine Brown
STAUNTON NEWSLEADER
Originally published November 14, 2005
