| Donk's Theatre | |
| Designated Other1: | Virginia Landmarks Register |
| Designated Other1 Date: | December 17, 2009[1] |
| Designated Other1 Number: | 057-0069 |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 37.4714°N -76.3264°W |
| Built: | c. -1947 |
| Demolished: | 2016 (collapsed) |
| Architecture: | Art Deco |
| Added: | January 28, 2011 |
| Delisted: | February 7, 2017 |
| Area: | less than 1 acre |
| Refnum: | 10001185[2] |
Donk's Theatre was a historic movie theater located at Hudgins, Mathews County, Virginia.
Donk's Theatre was built in 1946–1947, and was a vernacular rectangular building constructed of rusticated cinder and concrete block, painted white and cream with Art Deco style details. The building measured 50 feet by 100 feet, and consisted of the central theatre entrance, storefronts, and a 504-seat auditorium. The theater operated as a segregated venue for motion pictures until passage of federal civil rights legislation in 1964. In the following years the movie business was declining and the theater closed in 1970. It reopened in 1975, as a live country music concert hall.[3] On January 22, 2016, the roof of Donk's collapsed due to heavy snowfall from a winter storm, as did several of the outside walls. Little survived, and what remained required demolition; the owners said that they would save the marquee.[4]
The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, and was removed from the National Register in 2017.[5]