Lyon's State Theatre
221 S. Main Street,
Franklin,
VA
23851
221 S. Main Street,
Franklin,
VA
23851
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Hal J. Lyon had his Lyon’s State Theatre remodeled in 1964. An article about the project appearing in the December 26 issue of The Tidewater News said that the house had been built in 1937. Lyon was interviewed for the article, and said that the auditorium would be reseated with rows 42 inches apart, increased from 30 inches, so that total seating capacity would be reduced from 500 to 300. Lyon had been in the theater business at Franklin for 35 years. He also owned the Franklin Theatre, though it was closed at the time, as well as the Carrsville Drive-In and theaters in Boykins and Waverly.
Lyon was mentioned in the April 3, 1948 issue of Boxoffice (though that article gave his name as both Lyon and Lyons.) At that time he was operating six theaters: the State and Franklin in Franklin, the Boykins in Boykins, the Lyon’s in Waverly, and the Delta and Elco in Portsmouth.
Once I could drive I often took the winding roads between Wakefield and Franklin to see a movie here. Among the films I saw: DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE, JOE, THE GRADUATE, GODFATHER 2….and an especially exciting screening on a hot summer night of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Most of the audience was from a local Pentecostal church and the screening after a while turned into something like a revival meeting.
When I moved to Franklin in 1999, this movie theater was being used as a dance studio. The seats had been torn out and the floor filled in to make it level. A church moved in shortly after the people who owned the dance studio moved out. I can’t say for certain when, but another church moved in and they did buy this building. They have since become a mainstay in the community. The city did, however, at some point between churches, replace the overhang with grants. Dan Howe,President of the Downtown Franklin Association asked that the city keep it so that he could put a museum in it to promote the area. The city declined.
Anyone know when it stopped being used as a theater? I remember going there in the mid-70s with a special young lady. Even then it seemed a bit of an anachronism – a single screen in the middle of a small town. Thank you for posting this, brings back good memories!
Yes,I was in Franklin last week.( I wander willy-nilly) It is NOW being used as a church,again.
Following up with ghamilton’s post, the building appears to still be doing just that. It looks like it was repurposed at some recent point, from what the marquee looks like in the Google Maps street view. However, it appears to be closed and abandoned at present.
Two years ago,it was clearly just sitting there doing nothing in hulking emptiness.