Columbia Theatre
318 Patton Street,
Danville,
VA
24541
318 Patton Street,
Danville,
VA
24541
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The Columbia Theatre was built and opened in 1913 and existed through 1915. It was, by current known accounts, the first all African-American vaudeville/movie theatre attempted in Danville, VA.
The Columbia Theatre was managed by William Don Levy and was one of the earliest theatre venues on the S. H. Dudley Circuit; established in 1912. At present, the only advertisements for this theatre have been found in “The Freeman, An Illustrated Colored Newspaper” out of Indianapolis, Indiana. Advertisements for the touring acts appeared under the column “What’s What on the Dudley Circuit”.
The Columbia Theatre was the scene of a killing on February 11, 1914.
The Columbia Theatre later came under the management of W. A. Williams before closing.
William Don Levy would go on to open the first African-American theatre in Danville, VA built from the ground up in 1921; called Hippodrome Theatre, located at 215 N. Union Street. This theatre would be a featured stop on what became the T.O.B.A. Circuit in the 1920’s.
Contributed by
Jonathan Travis Hackworth
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The February 11, 1914 killing, which determined to be self-defense, goes as follows: The deceased suspect, an intoxicated negro identified as Percy Foster, stabbed Danville Police officer W.C. Hall dozens of times while resisting from police before the officer bravely pulled out a gun and fatally shot Foster in the chest. Foster struggled lying stretched on the floor but died five minutes later on-scene. Hall was taken to a nearby hospital in life-threatening injuries to the left side of his chest and his left arm being terribly gashed. The shooting happened at 10:00 PM CST that night at the Columbia Theatre’s lobby, and every single moment of it was watched by hundreds of negro moviegoers.
Prior to the incident just minutes before it happened as Hall, the youngest officer of the department at the time, approached to Foster, Officer R.M. Gee asked Hall to take Foster into custody. But that turned around when Foster was remonstrated twice, and as the officer laid his hand upon the lapel of his coat to force the negro to accompany him. Foster was seen by people standing nearby to draw from his side pocket which reveals to be a long open knife and stabbed the officer twice. As Hall reached back for his gun, Foster drove the blade into his left breast with a quick thrust and Hall staggered back against the wall of the lobby. With self-defense, he pulled out his .38 caliber and shot Foster twice point-blank who was 6ft away from him. The first shot appeared to take no affect but the second one piled him up on the box office just outside the theater. Sergeants Edwards and Plainclothesman Prescott ran out of the building being joined by other officers and patrons who heard the reports. The two ran to his assistance, carried Hall, and aided him to the Baroody’s Confectionary Store nearby where Hall was held for a few moments while the first vehicle traveling uptown passed and he was carried onto a street car before being taken into the office of Dr. S.E. Hughes. Meanwhile, the first officers who saw Foster saw readily that he was mortally wounded by a bullet through the heart and one side above the hipbone. He was stretched out upon the floor while calls were sent to physicians to hurry to his aid. Dr. J.L. Jennings arrived first but Foster was already dead, and this was followed by Dr. C.C. Hudson afterward.
Levy later opened his Hippodrome, but also suffered a scene when he committed suicide with a gunshot wound to his head inside the theater in 1930.