The National: a guide to Richmond's last theater on Theatre Row

Built in 1923, dark for decades and saved from the wrecking ball, the Broad Street house is now one of Richmond's busiest rooms for touring bands.

Stand on East Broad Street downtown and look up at the facade of The National, and you are looking at the survivor. Broad Street once had a row of grand auditoriums along this stretch, and this is the only one of the three originals still standing. It also happens to be one of the busiest music rooms in Richmond, with 18 shows on its calendar over the next four weeks.

The basics. The National is at 708 E. Broad St. It holds about 1,500, and it is operated by AEG. That size puts it in the middle of Richmond's ladder: bigger than the clubs, smaller than the arena and the big performing arts halls, and the right fit for touring acts that can fill a theater but still want a crowd on its feet.

The room. The building went up in 1922 and 1923 on the site of an earlier theater, the Rex. Its developers wanted it to be the grandest house in Richmond, and architect Claude K. Howell gave it a Renaissance Revival design and an adaptable stage that could handle both films and live acts. Cinema Treasures reports an opening-night crowd of about 2,000.

The movies eventually won. In 1968 the theater became the Towne Theatre, and the conversion was not kind: the balcony seating was rearranged, the orchestra pit was covered and much of the ornate plasterwork was painted over. The Towne closed in 1983, and the building sat in limbo until the Historic Richmond Foundation stepped in to save it from demolition in 1989. It went on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 and, after an extensive renovation, reopened as The National in 2008.

That history is why the room feels the way it does. You are watching a rock show inside a 1920s theater, with the old architecture overhead and a modern floor and production built into it. It is a good-looking place to see a band.

What it books. The National's calendar leans toward national touring acts, the sort of artists who are big enough to sell out a theater but not big enough for an arena. For Richmond fans it is often the first stop when a band they found in a club comes back a few years later with a bigger following.

Getting there. The theater is downtown on East Broad Street. We did not find current parking or box-office details we could confirm, so check the venue's own site before you go, especially on nights when something else is happening downtown.

Before you go. Look at each show's listing for doors and set times, since they vary. If the show is general admission and you want to be close, arrive early. If you want to see the room, look up between songs.

A lot of Richmond buildings like this one did not make it. This one did, and it is full of music most nights. That is worth a ticket on its own.

Sources: The National (official site) (thenationalrichmond.com); The National (theater) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); National Theater, Richmond, Virginia — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Cinema Treasures: National Theatre (cinematreasures.org)