Somebody broke into the Byrd Theatre on the wee hours of Sunday morning. Money estimated at about $100 was stolen from the donation birdcage in the lobby. The cost of repairing the damaged front doors has been estimated to be $1,200. All of which comes at a particularly bad time for the 82-year-old movie palace owned by the Byrd Theatre Foundation.

Bertie Selvey, a longtime board member who resigned in frustration early this year, said she never has been more worried that financial pressures may force the Byrd to close, threatening the ornate plaster that makes it an architectural wonder and removing a key anchor from Carytown. The 1,350-seat theater primarily shows second-run movies, but it also accommodates independent film festivals and other community events. Selvey said the Byrd desperately needs a benefactor or many more people in the community to realize what’s at stake.

“It’s not just fixing it up — it’s saving it,” she said.

Click here to read the entire article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.