Hippodrome Theatre and the TOBA Circuit

The Hippodrome, Danville’s first purpose-built theatre for Black audiences, opened here in 1917. Owned by William A. Don Levy, it offered live entertainment and motion pictures. By 1922 the Hippodrome had joined the Theatre Owners’ Booking Association (TOBA), a circuit under interracial management that supplied vaudeville shows to venues serving African Americans. TOBA developed the careers of Black artists and booked them across the eastern half of the U.S., playing a foundational role in the entertainment industry. National stars such as blues pioneer Mamie Smith and Gonzell White’s Jazzers performed at the Hippodrome. Renamed the Lincoln Theatre in 1931, it closed in 1935 and burned in 1962.