Actually the theater burned. The double feature playing at the time was “Pride of St. Louis” and “The First Time.” For many years the marquee remained. The Pied Piper music store used the front portion. The former auditorium had the seats removed and the rear entrance served as a parking facility. CB Hukle owned the theater.
The theater closed in 2006. It was used during the filming of Warner Bros. “We Are Marshall” and hosted the premiere. The theater has been partially restored and operates as a performing arts center. Movies are shown only for the Marshall Artists Series International Festival and for the Appalachian Film Festival. The smaller auditoriums have been removed. The main is back the way it was supposed to be. But, the splitting of the auditorium kept the grand ole lady operating. The Hyman family deserves thousands of kudos for maintaining this jewel.
If I’m not mistaken but in 2011 the front facade of the Columbia Music Hall remained. The auditorium was gone, but fenced. The lobby appears preserved. Any updates?
Try going to huntingtonnews.net, then scroll down to the story on community volunteers for the Keith. Instead of clicking ARTICLE, click the photo gallery. There are about 20 plus photos in the gallery.
For the Keith to survive , the federal agencies MUST comply with mitigation aspects of laws related to federal undertakings affecting activities at historic properties. Contact the FTA, TTA, WV State Historic Preservation Office, American Council for Historic Preservation, and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Legally, the theatre should be entitled to federal money under NHPA, DOTA 4(f), Sec. 106, and NEPA, such as annual maintenance costs, due to the grant money building the new theatres. The theatre will deteriorate rapidly, if it closes, though. The owner said that it won’t take 20 years to fall into disrepair. In fact, an IATSE worker predicted the interior would be damaged in one or two years. Tentative plans have been made to “cut off” utilities in the stagehouse portion. Email me at
Short note: The photo of the Keith Albee was taken by Greg Pauley of GHTC. He also took the close up pics of the restoration of the Keith following the fire that are available on the Keith Albee’s official site.
The Palace (aka RKO International 70) was demolished about a decade ago. Located on the lower floors of an office building, I remember a Cincinnati Enquirer article of a dentist refusing to vacate his space in a vain effort to delay demolition of the theatre.
Photo of the fire courtesy of The Herald Dispatch and provided by permission.
Actually the theater burned. The double feature playing at the time was “Pride of St. Louis” and “The First Time.” For many years the marquee remained. The Pied Piper music store used the front portion. The former auditorium had the seats removed and the rear entrance served as a parking facility. CB Hukle owned the theater.
The theater closed in 2006. It was used during the filming of Warner Bros. “We Are Marshall” and hosted the premiere. The theater has been partially restored and operates as a performing arts center. Movies are shown only for the Marshall Artists Series International Festival and for the Appalachian Film Festival. The smaller auditoriums have been removed. The main is back the way it was supposed to be. But, the splitting of the auditorium kept the grand ole lady operating. The Hyman family deserves thousands of kudos for maintaining this jewel.
If I’m not mistaken but in 2011 the front facade of the Columbia Music Hall remained. The auditorium was gone, but fenced. The lobby appears preserved. Any updates?
Jeslyn recently renovated the former movie theater. The marquee has been removed. It’s still open, however.
Here’s the link directly to the photo gallery:
View link
and this will also get you to pictures:
View link
and this will take you to the “depths” of the theatre:
View link
ENJOY!
Try going to huntingtonnews.net, then scroll down to the story on community volunteers for the Keith. Instead of clicking ARTICLE, click the photo gallery. There are about 20 plus photos in the gallery.
Greater Hgtn (WV) Theatre Corp originally owned this location but sold it when a multiplex went in.
For the Keith to survive , the federal agencies MUST comply with mitigation aspects of laws related to federal undertakings affecting activities at historic properties. Contact the FTA, TTA, WV State Historic Preservation Office, American Council for Historic Preservation, and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Legally, the theatre should be entitled to federal money under NHPA, DOTA 4(f), Sec. 106, and NEPA, such as annual maintenance costs, due to the grant money building the new theatres. The theatre will deteriorate rapidly, if it closes, though. The owner said that it won’t take 20 years to fall into disrepair. In fact, an IATSE worker predicted the interior would be damaged in one or two years. Tentative plans have been made to “cut off” utilities in the stagehouse portion. Email me at
Short note: The photo of the Keith Albee was taken by Greg Pauley of GHTC. He also took the close up pics of the restoration of the Keith following the fire that are available on the Keith Albee’s official site.
The Capitol was NOT demolished. The theatre a couple of doors from Parsons Dept. Store (now a museum) was converted to a furniture store.
The Palace (aka RKO International 70) was demolished about a decade ago. Located on the lower floors of an office building, I remember a Cincinnati Enquirer article of a dentist refusing to vacate his space in a vain effort to delay demolition of the theatre.