Varsity Theater

6610 Delmar Boulevard,
St. Louis, MO 63130

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Additional Info

Architects: R.A.M. Anderson, Bruce F. Barnes

Firms: Barnes & Anderson

Functions: Retail

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Varsity Theater

Originally built as an auto-repair garage, it was converted into the Varsity Theater, which opened on December 5, 1935. After closing, it was remodeled into a drug store. The building currently houses an excellent independent record store called Vintage Vinyl. It’s just blocks away from the lovely Tivoli Theater also listed here. Both are in the the Delmar loop area of St. Louis.

Contributed by Kevin Schneider

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

jackhicko
jackhicko on February 19, 2005 at 5:31 pm

I had a record store called Wuxtry just down the street (later bought by Vintage Vinyl). We closede at midnight on the weekends and it was always good to be able to go to a late show at the Varsity or maybe the Tivoli. The Varsity was the only theater in town with the silver screen necessary to project 3-D movies. Because of this, I finally got to see “The Bubble” in 3-D, which my parents wouldn’t let me see as a kid. They also had two 3-D “Three Stooges” films. The above-mentioned “Frankenstein” in 3-D at the Varsity was probably the greatest cinema experience of my life (until 3-D Imax).

JAlex
JAlex on April 7, 2005 at 11:10 pm

The Varsity opened on Dec. 5, 1935 and was originally operated by the Ansell Brothers, who also operated the Ritz and Empress Theatres.

The architect was Bruce F. Barnes.

The facility was a conversion of a l-story automobile repair garage.

frankjcorley
frankjcorley on March 4, 2007 at 7:45 am

I thought the Varsity had been torn down in the 1980’s, and that on its site a new building, originally a drugstore—like PharMor or something—had been built. The way I remember it, that store went out of business and Vintage Vinyl is operating in that building, not the old theatre.

jackhicko
jackhicko on July 4, 2007 at 2:21 am

The above photo link does not go to a picture of Vintage Vinyl OR to the Varsity.

plasticfootball
plasticfootball on March 13, 2008 at 10:05 am

PharMor simply remodeled the old Varsity Theater; they didn’t replace the building—though they might as well have. I worked at Vintage Vinyl for a while and always wished that the drugstore had never intervened; the record store would have had a much cooler vibe if it had been converted directly from movie-theater use. PharMor totally gutted the place.

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on May 27, 2009 at 2:19 pm

The only thing missing from that beautiful picture are side shots of the marquee (where the titles of the films showing that week were placed).

benji55545
benji55545 on July 19, 2010 at 6:32 pm

A picture of the Varsity including the marquee can be found at View link

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on February 3, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Are there any pictures of the Varsity’s interior lurking around?

Chris Utley
Chris Utley on July 17, 2011 at 5:38 pm

Nice 70’s marquee shot. I’d kill to see an “Andy Warhol’s FRANKENSTEIN 3D” marquee shot!

butchieboy
butchieboy on September 10, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Remember seeing Rocky Horror Picture Show on its initial release, with four other people in the audience, then another score of times at the midnight shows c. 1977-1978

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