The Barter Theatre

The Barter Theatre

Abingdon, Va.
History
Historic District
Attractions
Culture
Tourism
Arts
Repertory Theater
Economy
Robert Porterfield
George G. Mitchell, Architect

"A repertory theater group was organized here in the 1930s by Robert Porterfield for out-of-work actors. From bartering admission tickets for anything from huckleberries to lamb chops, it has grown into the State Theatre of Virginia. Drawing thousands of visitors annually to Abingdon, the Barter Theatre is a major component in the economic—as well as the cultural and aesthetic—vitality of the town. The theater building began as Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church. After the congregation moved to a different site..., the building housed the Sons of Temperance and was used for lectures, grange meetings, and drama productions."

"With the dawn of a new century, the two surviving trustees of the Sons of Temperance turned over the Temperance Hall to the town of Abingdon. When [Robert] Porterfield arranged to use the hall for the debut of his new company, the town hall was upstairs while the jail occupied the basement. Across the street stood a sprawling mansion--the defunct Martha Washington College--where Porterfield's actors had taken up residence. A stately reminder, it epitomized the grandeur and grace of a revered but bygone era... .

Anne Carter Lee, "Barter Theatre", SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville, UVaP, 2012
http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-WS10

The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible, Mark Dawidziak. Appalachian State Univ. Press, Boone, N.C. 1982 (p.8)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xp3mg2

Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources, VLR Online and National Register Listings, Washington County, 140-0037, Abingdon Historic District

William Stein
archives-wcpl.net/Archive7_Appalachia/project

VLR Listing Date 12/2/1969

Photo credit: Mical Tawney and Melissa Butler

Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) and its content is copyrighted © 2013-2019

Appalachian State University Press (1982)

Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources
https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/140-0037/

Image file: .jpg

English

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