Formerly: Dreamland (early 1900s)
Spencer, West Virginia · Founded 1907 · Building: circa 1907–1911; extensively remodeled 1926
A small-town cinema built in the early 1900s, remodeled in 1926, and still showing films nightly under the ownership of Aaron and Melissa Richardson.
The Robey Theatre occupies a Main Street building constructed in the early twentieth century for film exhibition, then extensively remodeled in 1926 by the firm of Carmichael and Millspaugh. It operated under the name Dreamland before reopening as the Robey Theatre in 1926. The Robey family owned it until 1979; Aaron and Melissa Richardson are the current owners.
Hamond Robey began operating his movie theater business in Spencer; later accounts and social posts describe a 1907 start to the theater's cinema history.
Source: Yelp, Robey Theatre reviews; Facebook posts and local recollections cited in West Virginia Tourism materials
Hamond Robey built the present Main Street theater as a dedicated film-exhibition venue.
Source: West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, Robey Theatre entry; Almost Heaven West Virginia Tourism, “Robey Theatre”
Robey significantly expanded and remodeled the theater. Architects Carmichael and Millspaugh redesigned the facade and enlarged the stage; the $100,000 remodeling largely defines the present interior and exterior. During the closure, films were shown under a tent at the town ballfield so a nightly showing would not be missed.
Source: West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, Robey Theatre entry; Almost Heaven West Virginia Tourism, “Robey Theatre”; WCHS/WVAH, June 19, 2020
The theater reopened under the Robey Theatre name after the 1926 remodeling. It had previously been known as Dreamland.
Source: Clio, “The Robey Theatre”
The Robey installed sound equipment and became one of the first theaters in the area to show “talkies.”
Source: West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, Robey Theatre entry
The Robey family sold the theater to T. Michael Burch, who continued operating the cinema and preserved its historic Art Deco feel.
Source: Clio, “The Robey Theatre”
The Robey Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: Wikipedia, “Robey Theatre”
T. Michael Burch sold the Robey Theatre to Aaron Richardson, who has operated the theater and later co-owned it with his wife, Melissa Richardson.
Source: Clio, “The Robey Theatre”; West Virginia Explorer commentary, May 20, 2026
Owner Aaron Richardson explained in a WCHS/WVAH report that the Robey had survived the Great Depression, and that during the 1926 renovation films were temporarily shown under a tent at the ballfield so the theater's nightly movie exhibition would continue.
Source: WCHS/WVAH, “Spencer community comes together to help historic theater stay in business,” June 19, 2020
The City of Spencer promoted the Robey as “the longest continually running theatre in the country,” noting that it has not missed a scheduled nightly showing in over a century aside from short renovation periods.
Source: City of Spencer Facebook post, October 11, 2024
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
West Virginia Tourism and the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail both describe the Robey as the longest continuously running theater in the state, and local news outlets emphasize its uninterrupted movie history aside from short renovation periods. This research did not locate an official statewide theater-age survey, but no competing West Virginia theater with a longer documented continuous run appeared.
Wikipedia and some local commentary call the Robey Theatre the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the United States. Other recognized contenders, such as Washington, Iowa's State Theatre, have Guinness World Records backing. This research did not locate a national-level comparative study or Guinness designation for the Robey that would definitively settle its claim over other long-running cinemas.
Clio and the West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail both state that the Robey's Main Street building itself closed for several months during the 1926 remodeling. The building was not open to the public during that period, regardless of what happened elsewhere in town.
Owner Aaron Richardson told WCHS/WVAH that during the 1926 remodeling closure, films were shown under a tent at the town ballfield specifically so a nightly showing would not be missed. This is a narrower and more defensible claim than uninterrupted building operation: it rests on Richardson's own account of a preserved local tradition rather than a primary night-by-night attendance ledger, but it is not contradicted by any source located in this research.
One set of sources, including Wikipedia and some local recollections, reference a 1907 origin. West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail and state tourism materials, however, state that Robey built the present theater in 1911. Without a primary building permit, deed, or contemporaneous report resolving the discrepancy, the safest description is that the present building dates to the early 1900s with film exhibition starting soon after.
A City of Spencer Facebook post notes that some people consider the Robey haunted but quotes a former manager saying it is probably not. No named paranormal investigation, aired episode, or published evidence review focused on the Robey was located in this research.
Wikipedia, West Virginia Explorer commentary, and local television news all identify Aaron Richardson as the owner, and West Virginia Explorer states that the Robey is currently owned by Aaron and Melissa Richardson.
The Robey Theatre has never closed in over 100 years of operation.
The building itself closed for several months during its 1926 remodeling. What appears to be true, per owner Aaron Richardson's account, is a narrower claim: a nightly Robey-branded film showing continued even during that closure, staged under a tent at the town ballfield. Those are two different claims, and only the second one survives scrutiny.
Source: Clio, “The Robey Theatre”; West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail, Robey Theatre entry; WCHS/WVAH, June 19, 2020
The Robey's building date is a settled 1907.
Sources conflict between 1907 and 1911. West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail and state tourism materials use 1911, while some other accounts mention 1907. Without a located primary construction record, the exact year remains unresolved.
Source: West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail; Almost Heaven West Virginia Tourism; Wikipedia, “Robey Theatre”
The Robey survived because its owners treated it as an everyday movie house with deep local importance, not a museum piece disconnected from the town's entertainment needs. Hamond Robey's early willingness to invest in sound equipment and the 1926 architectural expansion set the building up for long-term use. Later owners, including T. Michael Burch and now Aaron and Melissa Richardson, kept the programming simple, the tickets affordable, and the building's historic character largely intact, which allowed the theater to remain viable through changing film-distribution models and the COVID-19 shutdown era.
West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail and Almost Heaven West Virginia Tourism state that Hamond Robey built the present Main Street theater specifically for films in 1911, after operating movie screenings in other Spencer locations. Film exhibition there dates to the early twentieth century, with the Robey name adopted after a 1926 remodeling.
Wikipedia and some local commentary call the Robey Theatre the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the United States, but this research did not locate a Guinness World Records designation or national comparison study that definitively ranks it above other long-running cinemas such as Washington, Iowa's State Theatre.
The Main Street building itself closed for several months during a 1926 remodeling, according to Clio and state theatre-trail sources. But owner Aaron Richardson told WCHS/WVAH that films were shown under a tent at the town ballfield during that closure specifically so a nightly showing would not be missed — meaning the building closed, but the tradition of a nightly Robey screening reportedly did not break.
Aaron Richardson is the current owner identified by Wikipedia, West Virginia Explorer, and WCHS/WVAH. West Virginia Explorer adds that Aaron and Melissa Richardson now own the theater together.
A City of Spencer post notes that many people believe the Robey is haunted but quotes a former manager who doubts those claims. No named paranormal investigation or widely documented haunting story emerged from this research, so any ghost stories remain local folklore rather than documented phenomena.
318 Main Street, Spencer, WV 25276
(304) 927-1390
Expect a one-screen, small-town cinema with an interior that largely reflects its 1926 remodeling; the building's historic character is part of the experience.