Cozy Theater

Joe Vogel on April 19, 2026 at 8:07 pm

This was the Cozy Theatre, according to the NRHP registration form for the Chase City Warehouse and Commercial Historic District. It was built ca.1920 by C. E. Geoghegan (though the registration form misspells his name as Geogehan.) I think the form may have gotten more than Mr. Geoghegan’s name wrong. The December 23, 1915 issue of Manufacturers Record ran this item under “Theaters”: “Va., Chase City.-C. E. Geoghegan let contract to J. T. & S. J. Reynolds, Chase City, to erect motion-picture theater at 1231⁄2 Main St., 2 stories; 26x90 ft.; brick; metal roof; concrete floor; electric light; concrete walk; cost $3500. (Lately noted.)”

On the 1913 Sanborn, 123 ½ Main would have been just north of the drug store on the corner of 4th St. and Main. The drug store’s old number (124) still appears on the 1921 Sanborn, along with its new number, 400, right next door to the movie theater. Unless there was a very long construction delay (which is quite possible), Mr. Geoghegan’s Cozy Theatre could have opened in 1916.

As Mr. Geoghegan owned the adjacent stores as well, it seems likely that the Cozy was expended into at least part of that space by 1926, accounting for the larger seating capacity then. Geoghegan was still operating the Cozy as late as 1930, when the May 5 issue of National Exhibitor reported that he would reopen his redecorated Cozy Theatre that day with new seats, new flooring, and a new Royal Amplitone sound system.