Galleria - Former Colonial Theater (Fredericksburg, Virginia) | store / shop

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The Colonial Theater, owned by Benjamin Thomas Pitts(January 21, 1889—July 21, 1964)
(Pitt's Theatres), opened in February of 1929. The first talking movie to play there was "The Voice of the City". The Galleria (retail stores) is located at this address today.

Living Word Fellowship Church used the Colonial Theatre during the 1980's. They renovated the interior and added a stage at the front (covering over the orchestra pit), they moved in and held church services. After LWFC moved out another church moved in. Later, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and a local theatre group performed at The Colonial.

It was a very beautiful building before the mall and apartments were put in ... ornate plaster work, some gold leaf (or imitation gold leaf), and large decorative columns and lintel over the stage area. Brass fixtures are used liberally throughout the building. There are several rooms upstairs that were used as the local theatre offices (the same company owned the two downtown Fredericksburg theatres and later the drive-in and the Virginians Theatre).

The building was built in the 1920's as a venue for vaudeville. Prior to Civil Rights and integration, African-Americans theatre-goers had to sit upstairs in the balcony and white patrons sat downstairs on the main floor.