The current multiplexed Mayflower and the original theater are one and the same. The Mayflower was built as a single screen theater with a 2 manual, 5 rank Style 150 Special Wurlitzer organ, opus 1787, installed at the time it opened. The organ was shipped from the Wurlitzer factory on November 18, 1927. It was installed in two chambers on either side of the proscenium, which was somewhat unusual for an organ of that size. The theatre was listed as “New Theatre, Troy, Ohio,” in older versions of the Wurlitzer opus list, and New Theatre is written in blue crayon inside one of the windchests. The Mayflower opened as The Mayflower Theatre on Wednesday, February 1, 1928, with the Wallace Beery movie, “Wife Savers.” It had a small orchestra pit and featured two orchestras on opening day, plus Edward Dollinger on the “$15,000 Wurlitzer organ” and “a varied program of music and vaudeville numbers.” It had a small stage and did not have a fly loft. There was a large empty room over the stage which connected the two organ chambers, and had a door which opened into the air about 17 feet above the alley below. I purchased the organ from the original owner of the theater, Mr. Chris Pfister, and removed it in the fall of 1973. At that time, Mr. Pfister was old and in poor health, and was leasing the theater to Alan Teicher, who bought it after Mr. Pfister died. When I removed the organ, the theatre was completely intact with a single screen. A wide screen frame had been installed in front of the original proscenium, extending to partially cover the organ grilles on either side. The front was completely covered with drapery, so the proscenium and organ grilles were not visible. The organ console sat on the floor to the right of the small orchestra pit railing, fully exposed at all times. The multiplexing occurred years later. I understand that the original auditorium is mostly intact and is the largest of the theatres. One screen was put on stage, and I believe the other two were put in what was formerly a storefront to the west of the theatre’s main entrance, but I wouldn’t swear to this. The store was a barber shop in 1973. There was no marquee in 1973 and no evidence that there ever was one. I saw the theatre on the outside in the summer of 2007 and it looked much as it did in 1973. I haven’t seen the interior since 1973. I still own the organ, and it is warm, dry, and safe. Unfortunately it doesn’t play yet, but hope springs eternal. I hope this information is helpful. At this time, I don’t have any further details, such as the name of the architect.
The Albee was located at 13 East Fifth Street, not 12 as stated above. It was on the south side of Fifth Street, and 12 would have put it on the north side. The north side was demolished in the mid-1960s for the reconstruction of Fountain Square. Keith’s Theatre was around the corner on Walnut Street and was part of that demolition. The Albee closed on September 17, 1974. It was briefly reopened about 2 years later in the fall of 1976 for a pre-demolition contents sale, and was demolished in 1977. The facade on the convention center is not a duplicate – it is the original marble from the Albee. After doing everything it could to get rid of the theatre, the city carefully dismantled, numbered, and saved all of the marble pieces from the facade for eventual reuse. Contrary to rgwalther’s comment, it wasn’t really “decaying,” and still looked splendid when it closed in 1974. Of course, it needed cleaning and restoration, but it was not in bad condition and was not a decaying hulk. The city and local newspapers tried to depict it that way whenever possible, in order to dampen public sentiment for saving it, but it simply wasn’t true. RKO had never modified it, so it was all original from the backstage wall to the top of the balcony. The proscenium was wide enough to accommodate a wide screen, so it never suffered the wide screen scaffolding, demolition of boxes, and fiberglass draping that were done to many old theatres. In his new book, “Stepping Out in Cincinnati,” Allen Singer missed the opening by a year. The Albee opened on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1927. Cincinnati will forever be poorer for not having saved it.
The current multiplexed Mayflower and the original theater are one and the same. The Mayflower was built as a single screen theater with a 2 manual, 5 rank Style 150 Special Wurlitzer organ, opus 1787, installed at the time it opened. The organ was shipped from the Wurlitzer factory on November 18, 1927. It was installed in two chambers on either side of the proscenium, which was somewhat unusual for an organ of that size. The theatre was listed as “New Theatre, Troy, Ohio,” in older versions of the Wurlitzer opus list, and New Theatre is written in blue crayon inside one of the windchests. The Mayflower opened as The Mayflower Theatre on Wednesday, February 1, 1928, with the Wallace Beery movie, “Wife Savers.” It had a small orchestra pit and featured two orchestras on opening day, plus Edward Dollinger on the “$15,000 Wurlitzer organ” and “a varied program of music and vaudeville numbers.” It had a small stage and did not have a fly loft. There was a large empty room over the stage which connected the two organ chambers, and had a door which opened into the air about 17 feet above the alley below. I purchased the organ from the original owner of the theater, Mr. Chris Pfister, and removed it in the fall of 1973. At that time, Mr. Pfister was old and in poor health, and was leasing the theater to Alan Teicher, who bought it after Mr. Pfister died. When I removed the organ, the theatre was completely intact with a single screen. A wide screen frame had been installed in front of the original proscenium, extending to partially cover the organ grilles on either side. The front was completely covered with drapery, so the proscenium and organ grilles were not visible. The organ console sat on the floor to the right of the small orchestra pit railing, fully exposed at all times. The multiplexing occurred years later. I understand that the original auditorium is mostly intact and is the largest of the theatres. One screen was put on stage, and I believe the other two were put in what was formerly a storefront to the west of the theatre’s main entrance, but I wouldn’t swear to this. The store was a barber shop in 1973. There was no marquee in 1973 and no evidence that there ever was one. I saw the theatre on the outside in the summer of 2007 and it looked much as it did in 1973. I haven’t seen the interior since 1973. I still own the organ, and it is warm, dry, and safe. Unfortunately it doesn’t play yet, but hope springs eternal. I hope this information is helpful. At this time, I don’t have any further details, such as the name of the architect.
The Albee was located at 13 East Fifth Street, not 12 as stated above. It was on the south side of Fifth Street, and 12 would have put it on the north side. The north side was demolished in the mid-1960s for the reconstruction of Fountain Square. Keith’s Theatre was around the corner on Walnut Street and was part of that demolition. The Albee closed on September 17, 1974. It was briefly reopened about 2 years later in the fall of 1976 for a pre-demolition contents sale, and was demolished in 1977. The facade on the convention center is not a duplicate – it is the original marble from the Albee. After doing everything it could to get rid of the theatre, the city carefully dismantled, numbered, and saved all of the marble pieces from the facade for eventual reuse. Contrary to rgwalther’s comment, it wasn’t really “decaying,” and still looked splendid when it closed in 1974. Of course, it needed cleaning and restoration, but it was not in bad condition and was not a decaying hulk. The city and local newspapers tried to depict it that way whenever possible, in order to dampen public sentiment for saving it, but it simply wasn’t true. RKO had never modified it, so it was all original from the backstage wall to the top of the balcony. The proscenium was wide enough to accommodate a wide screen, so it never suffered the wide screen scaffolding, demolition of boxes, and fiberglass draping that were done to many old theatres. In his new book, “Stepping Out in Cincinnati,” Allen Singer missed the opening by a year. The Albee opened on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1927. Cincinnati will forever be poorer for not having saved it.