Princess Theatre
113 E. 9th Street,
Hopkinsville,
KY
42240
113 E. 9th Street,
Hopkinsville,
KY
42240
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Actually, the building suffered three fires in its history (only two as the Princess Theatre). The Princess Theatre formerly housed the Elk’s Club until it was destroyed by a fire on March 31, 1911. The building was rebuilt as the Princess Theatre and the Elk’s Club was relocated a block away. The Princess Theatre would then suffer two more fires, one on June 10, 1918 and again on January 8, 1942.
The Princess Theatre closed in either September or October 1972.
The 1942 fire was the second major conflagration in the Princess’s history. The July 6, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World reported that the house had burned to the ground on Monday, June 10. A booth fire was the cause, and though the projectionist was burned slightly, the audience filed out calmly and no one else was injured. The loss to building and equipment was estimated at $17,000.
A second item in the same issue of MPW said that the Crescent Amusement Company, operators of the house, had moved scheduled shows to their second Hopkinsville house, the Rex Theatre, and that the owner of the building, L.H. Davis, said tat the Princess would be rebuilt immediately, and that Crescent would continue as operators when it reopened.
The text should be adjusted to show that this opened as the Photoplay Palace. By Feb 1913, it’s shown as the Princess.
This web page has a brief history of the Princess Theatre. It was called the Photoplay Palace when it opened in 1911. The Moderne facade is the result of reconstruction following a major fire in 1942. The Princess closed in 1972.
Nice Large Marquee.