HISTORY OF VICTORY HALL

D Wiley Anderson (Architect 1864-1940), designed Victory Hall.

Marion McKay, actress and drama teacher who conceived of the idea of Victory Hall Theater for Scottsville, VA.

In the days before the levee was built, floods often threatened Victory Hall Theater. This flood was in the late 1940's.

Group in front of Victory Hall, Scottsville, VA in 1924.

Sunshine Sue and Grandpa Jones of the Old Dominion Barn Dance often appeared at Victory Hall in the 1940's.

Victory Theater, originally called Victory Hall, was designed by D. Wiley Anderson. Construction was completed in 1920. It was the dream of drama teacher Marion McKay to have a setting for dramatic performances and traveling vaudeville and Chautauqua shows. The theatre name commemorates the Armistice of World War 1, and the building served its original purpose until 1960 when it became the Municipal Building for the Town of Scottsville.

Victory hall was a showplace for silent films and later for the many offerings of Hollywood's Golden Era. There were live performances by both local and traveling dramatic and musical artists. In the 1940s and 1950s, many now famous country music stars performed on the Victory Hall Stage.

In the early 1960s, the theatre closed and the building was converted for municipal uses. The building was gutted and a second floor added to house the town offices. The downstairs was used for the volunteer fire department and later the rescue squad.

The Horseshoe Bend Players configured a theatre space for their 1999 production of "The Lion in Winter." Since then, the Theatre remodeling committee has worked hard to create an intimate theatre setting with a first rate "green" room for performers to relax in during their shows.

While the original theatre eludes recovery, the revitalization of the landmark Victory Hall continues to mark the return of this venerable building to its historical purpose.

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