CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The week it becomes a major venue for Virginia Film Festival screenings, an announcement Tuesday morning that three cinema-loving Charlottesville residents have facilitated the purchase of the building housing the Violet Crown and the theater is not going anywhere.

According to a release, “Rachel Baker, a writer and editor; Annie Galvin, a UVa PhD and audio producer; and Lindsay Meck, a theater and events producer, facilitated the sale to Lisadell LLC. They came together on the project when they learned in recent months that the Violet Crown was in danger of being literally and figuratively wiped from the downtown Charlottesville landscape due to concerns regarding the building’s sale and probable demolition.”

Throughout last year, the building had been under a contract for sale to a developer who wanted to raze the building and construct a high-rise with some affordable housing units involved. However, he was allowed out of the contract when the city was slow to approve some aspects of what he wanted to do, and deny some other aspects.

“The Violet Crown is a crucial asset to the Charlottesville community, a jewel of the downtown mall, a tentpole of the Virginia Film Festival and the cornerstone of our arts-and-culture corridor,” Baker said. “We quite frankly could not and did not want to imagine a Charlottesville without it.” Losing the Violet Crown, she added, “would have not only been a serious blow to our arts and culture scene, but also to the vitality of our downtown business district.”

“The Violet Crown is a huge part of why I love living in Charlottesville,” Galvin said. “The Violet Crown screens indie and foreign films that don’t always play at other local venues, so this theater greatly expands the city’s cultural offerings. In today’s distracted society, being in a theater focuses our attention in ways that streaming films at home simply cannot. Cinema has always been among the most accessible American art forms, and we look forward to watching movies in community with our Charlottesville neighbors for many years to come.”

“I grew up experiencing my local movie theater as a sacred space and a weekly ritual to take in summer blockbusters, quiet indies, cult comedies, and everything in between,” Meck said. “These screenings provoked my own passions and subsequent career path in the arts/entertainment industry. I am thrilled to be a small part of continuing Charlottesville’s remarkable cultural legacy by preserving this physical manifestation of Charlottesville’s creative spirit, and to help ensure that it will continue to be a forum to inspire and entertain audiences of all ages for years to come.”

The purchase comes, according to the announcement, as welcome news to cultural and city leaders alike, including Jody Kielbasa, vice provost for the arts at the University of Virginia and the executive director of the Virginia Film Festival. “The Violet Crown Charlottesville has long played a central role in all we do at the VAFF,” he said, “serving as a vibrant downtown hub with seven screens active throughout the Festival weekend and hosting our downtown box office and our guests. The prospect of losing this cultural asset for the VAFF, the community, and for the city itself was potentially devastating, and I could not be more thrilled that Rachel, Annie, and Lindsay have led this charge to quite literally keep movies at the very heart of what we do and who we are in Charlottesville.”

The 2025 Virginia Film Festival is coming up from October 22-26 with screenings at The Violet Crown, The Paramount Theater and on the Grounds of the University of Virginia.

Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade said that, in addition to the cultural impact, the purchase of Violet Crown Cinemas will have a significant impact on the economic vitality of the Downtown Mall. “The Violet Crown has always been more than just a movie theater; it’s a place for local culture and gathering that brings energy and life to the Downtown Mall. This community-led effort to preserve it is a powerful example of what makes Charlottesville so special. By ensuring the Violet Crown’s future, these residents are helping to sustain not only our arts and culture scene, but also the economic vitality and vibrancy of downtown Charlottesville for years to come.”

“From the time we began working with the Violet Crown Charlottesville, we have been so impressed with how deeply intertwined it is with the Charlottesville community,” said Es Vedra Cinemas CEO Charlie Tiantawach, “and we could not be happier to work with the new ownership to not only continue this tradition, but to work alongside them to continually enhance the moviegoing experience in every way we can.” Current plans, he said, call for “new seats, an overhaul of the concessions system and offerings, and more.”