BATON ROUGE - The doors to The Varsity Theater are shut, for now at least. The Varsity Theater has temporarily closed for renovations, according to The Advocate.

Sitting just steps away from the North Gate of Louisiana State University, The Varsity has operated for generations. It first opened as a movie theater in 1937, which closed in 1988, then reopened as a live music venue in 1990.

The Varsity is a venue that Erika Fortenberry told WBRZ left her with fond memories.

"Oh, The Varsity, it's been there. It's a staple in Baton Rouge. When I was at LSU, we would go there actually to watch movies at first and then, they started playing live music," Fortenberry said.

For three decades, The Varsity hosted both local and national touring artists, including country star Willie Nelson, the Dave Matthews Band, and rapper J. Cole.

Phil Letelier told WBRZ that The Varsity was the place to be in the 1990s.

"I went to The Varsity several times back in the '90s. I saw a lot of good shows. One show that really stuck out to me was Social Distortion. I saw them there in 1995 or 1996," Letelier said.

But as of March 31, 2026, The Varisty sits quiet.

According to The Advocate, plans call for an expansion of The Chimes Restaurant & Taproom's rooftop seating into the theater. The same owners operate both the theater and the restaurant. Letelier said even a temporary closing means a big loss for the city.

"it will definitely be missed," Letelier said.

While renovations to the restaurant prompted the current closing, Letelier would like to see improvements to The Varsity Theater itself.

"Make the venue a little bit larger, a little bit more built for some of the bigger names or a bigger crowd, then yeah, it might be worth it," Letelier said.

Letelier and Fortenberry hope this isn't the venue's final curtain.

Although the closure is expected to be temporary, a reopening date is not scheduled. WBRZ reached out to the general manager multiple times on Monday and Tuesday about renovation plans. We're still waiting to hear back.