Princess Theatre

3177 Virginia Beach Boulevard,
Virginia Beach, VA 23452

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Wilder Theatres

Functions: Church

Nearby Theaters

Looking towards the rear - Open Door Chapel (Princess Theater)

Opened by the Wilder Theatre chain on November 22, 1963 with Jack Lemmon in “Under the Yum Yum Tree”. It was closed in 1975. In 1995 it was a church, I don’t know if it still is.

Contributed by Bob Jensen

Recent comments (view all 11 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 12, 2006 at 4:34 pm

Maybe Virginia Beach is full of pagans.

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on September 12, 2006 at 6:13 pm

KEN MC, Virginia Beach is the home of Pat Robertson, his 700 Club, his Christian Brodcasting Network(one of the largest television ministries in the world), his Regent Universties 3,000 students and his total assets last year of $251,060,000, if I got that number right! Yes some may say that amount of money IS pagan!

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 13, 2006 at 6:02 am

I agree. By the way, I have been curious about your initials. I think NAC is naval air command, but the only AKC I know, and I mean no disrespect, is the American Kennel Club. Can you enlighten me?

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on September 13, 2006 at 6:50 am

u.s. navy RETiried Aviation storKeeper Chief petty officer (Naval AirCrewmen). In the U.S. Navy when a sailor is promoted to Chief it’s a big deal “the Chiefs run the Navy” we have an initiation. With a rate of AKC which as you mention stands for the American Kennal Culb the old salty Chiefs came up with a costume I had to wear, you guessed it, a DOG!

Thanks for asking!
Chief Jensen

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 13, 2006 at 7:03 am

Thanks for the information.

ghamilton
ghamilton on September 15, 2006 at 5:29 am

Looks like it might have been in the 300 range.Wish some group could take the big theater on the ocean back to a performance venue of some sort.

njaneardude
njaneardude on June 9, 2009 at 9:33 am

The theater is now the Open Door Chapel (Non-denominational Christian church, unaffiliated), the school is just something that the church operates. The church has a very small congragation. It still looks like a theater on the inside, utilizes the old chairs. The roof is leaky but we keep patching it.
I remember the theater and it’s different statges of life, of course being the proverbial porn palace at one time. I also remember standing room services as a church.

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on April 10, 2012 at 7:38 am

Were the buildings attached to either side of the church/theater added after the theater closed? Am I correct that if THE TIDE (light commuter rail) ever extends from Norfok to Virginia Beach it would use the tracks just a little South of the church?

Sure would be nice to have photos from the past and present, both inside and out and more info.

Bob Jensen
Manteno, Illinois

rivest266
rivest266 on July 10, 2022 at 12:35 pm

Wilder Theatres opened the Princess theatre on November 22nd, 1963 with “Under the Yum Yum Tree”

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