Designed by the New York firm of E. Horn and Sons, the Wells Theatre is significant both as a representative of early 20th-century popular culture and as an outstanding example of Beaux Arts theatre architecture in Virginia. The Wells was built in and served as the opulent flagship for Wells Amusement Enterprises, a string of forty vaudeville theaters owned by Jake and Otto Wells throughout the South. The poured-in-place, steel-reinforced concrete structure was technologically advanced for the period, while the ornate decoration that is still visible today is a well-preserved example of Beaux-Arts neoclassicism.
Throughout the Great Depression, the Wells continued to stage vaudeville shows and movies. Moviegoers of the s and 50s remember its double and triple features. In the s, the Wells shared in the general decline of downtown Norfolk by converting to an X-rated movie house and occasionally staging live burlesque shows. The Theatre originally had 1, seats with 12 boxes and three balconies.
The top balcony served as a segregated balcony "For Negro Audiences Only," and had its own entrance and box office. A system of stairs made inside access easy, allowing waiters from Wong Ping's Chinese Restaurant to serve patrons on the second floor roof garden before and after performances.
Virginia Stage Company has made the Wells its home since Extensive renovation completed in brought the theater back to it former glory. VSC has grown to be a highly respected regional theatre company, attracting artists from Broadway, off-Broadway, and other leading theaters across the country, as well as from the worlds of film and television. We provide infrared listening devices, signed performances, and wheelchair accessibility.
Through all of its programs, VSC strives to enrich the lives of the people of Hampton Roads through the production of theatrical art of the highest quality. Interested in a tour? Contact us to set up an appointment. The Virginia Stage Company acknowledges the Chesepioc, Nansemond and other peoples of the Powhatan Tribes as the original stewards of this land, taken by conquest, on which the Wells Theater now stands.
