Albee Theatre

Two websites, http://www.emerycenter.com/em111899.htm and http://w3.one.net/~spmh/ballroom.htm, both make reference to the Albee being demolished. The second site gives a date of 1976 for the theater's demise.

I was brought up in Cincinnati and I remember the downtown theatres with passionate affection. The Albee was the most beautiful, right across from the fountain on the square. Just walking into the theatre after buying a ticket was a journey; the place was immense. You had to walk through the huge lobby, then take a left down a long corridor, and all this was on plush red carpet. Portraits hung all over the place. Even the men's restroom downstairs (with the largest urinals I ever saw) had its own adjoining lounge with dark wood furniture.

In the fifties and early sixties downtown Cincinnati had six big movie palaces. My parents told me a few were once old vaudeville houses (The Albee, The Keith's, The RKO Palace, The Grand, and The Capitol were the major ones), and the city also had a great legitimate live theatre, The Schubert. Remembering the times I saw movies in those places is such a pleasure. The Albee was the first theatre in that area to widen its screen to Cinamascope in 1953; my father took me then to see "The Robe."

By 1975 Cincinnati had razed every major downtown theatre. All those treasures were destroyed.

I have searched for photographs of the Albee and other Cincinnati theatres everywhere but can't find anything except this.

Thank you for at least this photo.

That is a good photo of the Albee. I have an old black & white photo if you want it. E-mail me at Joethemusicguy@aol.com and I'll reply with it. Have no idea of the date, though, but you may figure it out by what's on the marquee. I, too, grew up in Cincinnati. My grandfather was an usher at the Times Towne Cinema at 6th & Walnut in the '50s and early '60s. The Albee was one of the finest theatres in the world. They had live shows as well. So glad to see others who appreciate this type of thing. I miss all of the old theatres.

An early exterior view of the Albee can be seen here.

The Bryan Krefft photo above is EXCELLENT!!!

All they have now in Cincy is Showcase Cinemas theaters!!!!!!
Does that stink or WHAT?!

Don't forget-we also have the Danbarrys!!!

Still no classic theaters.

Are there any RKO theatres left anywhere in Ohio?

Another view of the Albee: http://www.cincinnatihistory.com/Buildings/Albee.jpg

wheelieman - though they aren't movie houses anymore, there are RKO Palaces in both Columbus and Cleveland, OH, and both are still operating.

Sounds like Columbus did a much better job than Cincy of keeping its old downtown theatres. The CAPA organization there saved and restored the Ohio (formerly Loew's Ohio), the Palace (formerly RKO Palace) and the Southern. All three are now live stages, but the Ohio has a classic film series.

Yes, Columbus did a much better job. None of the 3 are movie theaters anymore, but all are doing well as performing arts venues and beautifully restored. The Ohio film series leaves much to be desired though. Small screen and poor sound. I stopped going years ago for that reason. The theater itself is gorgeous. I think they have the theater doors from the Albee.

Does anyone know how the Keiths is listed here? Does it have a listing? I cant find it.

TJ;
The B.F.Keith Theatre, Cincinnati is not listed on this site at the moment. Do you know anything about it so that you can list it? or shall I post it as a new listing with just the basic details that I have? Is it still there?

Interesting that Cincinnati had both a Keith's and an Albee, separate theatres. Did any other city?

KenRoe, I'm afraid I dont. I saw a postcard picture of it once, but I dont even know what street it was located on. It must've closed before the early 70's as I never saw ads for it when I was in college and read the Cinci. paper.

I will add it with the details that I have.

The address for the Albee Theater was:
12 E 5th St
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Thank you for the photo, and for the information. I'm glad to find out there are still people out there who have the same fond memories (and wonder) that I have for the Albee, and all the RKO theaters in Cincinnati. For anyone who was never in it, all I can say is that its interior lived up to the facade, and then some. And when a movie ran at the Albee, you knew you were seeing something special: for example, when The Great Escape premiered there, the motorcycle used in the famous "jump scene" was roped off on display in the lobby. When they showed Away All Boats, the lobby held a huge scale model of the ship in the movie, the USS Randall (renamed USS Belinda in the movie). Years later, when just back from Vietnam, I saw The Godfather there, and remember thinking it was amazing they didn't have some dummies in the lobby arranged to look like they'd just been gunned down (heh).

I loved the place. Since then, I've been to the Hall Of Mirrors in Versailles - *yawn* - hell, I'd already been to the Albee!

The book "Stepping Out In Cincinnati: Queen City Entertainment 1900-1960" has 8 great photos of the Albee Theatre as well as photos of Keith's, the Shubert and many many others. It is a really wonderful book and I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in early 20th century Cincinnati history.

Where can one buy it?

One can buy it from Amazon.com via the link below. Actually, four can buy it, since they say they have four copies now and more on the way.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738534323/104-1198880-9813558?v=glance&n=283155

Thanks! It looks great.

The Albee was truly a masterpiece but the the 60's it was decaying. I spent many Saturdays afternoons memsmerized by all day 50 cent sessions of James Bond. James Stewart and more

I spent a lot of time at the Albee as a little girl. My brother was an assistant manager there and he sometimes took me to work with him. It was a wonderful theatre with lots of places the general public didn't get to see. I am trying to put an album together for him as he is retiring after 60 years of theatre management. I am looking for more pics of the Albee and other RKO theatres in Cinci from 1940s 1960's. Also looking for pics of theatres owned by MidStates in 1960s -1980s. That would also include the Hollywood in College Hill. Would be interested in info and pics. Thanks for help. Am very excited about the info on "Stepping Out..." book. Thats a great piece of info.

Rosie02

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.

How sad they couldnt save this theater. I bought the Singer book and enjoyed leafing through it, but wished there had been more pics of the Albee interior. Cleveland and Columbus saved many of their downtown theaters, why couldnt Cinci save just one?

I'm the author of Stepping Out in Cincinnati. I appreciate the comments about my new book.

Mike, you are correct--I had the date of the opening of the theater wrong. The caption says 1928, but it opened December 28, 1927. The "28" became the year unfortunately. It will be corrected for the second edition.

Regarding the number of Albee interior photos, I tried to find a balance of a range of theater photos in the whole chapter. The book is not just about theaters, so I was limited on how much space I had in the book for theaters and everything else. Plus, the selection of pictures depended a lot on availability. I had to include what I could find. There are collections whose owners don't want them in a book. The Historical Society has none. I came across a collection of negatives (credited to W.T. Myers), and most of them made it into the book. In that collection more more interior shots of the Albee: a larger waiting room, a shot of the organ, the upstairs hallway, and a photo of each of the paintings in the upstairs hallway. I had to choose the best representation of the Albee, and those are what made it into the book.

I would be happy to address any issues or concerns. Criticisms too.

allen

I would've liked to have seen more or the auditorium and the balcony, but I understand. Also a street map could've helped for people not familiar with downtown Cincinnati like me. But overall I thought it was very well done.

Thank you. I agree about the street map. When I was writing the book, it had crossed my mind but it would have meant sacrificing photos of theaters to include one.

I never found a balcony shot of the Albee. That would have been nice, I agree.

Just one more correction: the Albee opened December 24, 1927.

allen

I considered it a privilege to have worked at the Albee. I was an usher, ticket taker, and barker in the late 40's. All the ushers were barkers at one time or another. The movies always started with the curtains closed and then slowly but surely, the curtains opened revealing the screen. Their were basements, sub-basements and so forth which had once been dressing rooms for the many acts which played on the stage. The side doors, on Vine, were used to bring in props and costumes. I always thought it was a shame to put the facade on the Convention Center facing away from traffic. Only those walking North on Elm and the drivers who viewed it in their rear view mirrors saw how fantastic it looked.

I am a student at the University of Cincinnati and for my historic preservation class, I am writing a paper on the controversy surrounding the Albee's demolition. If anybody can recommend some sources for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Please e-mail anything you can supply at henryna@email.uc.edu
Thank you!

I was told that the Daytona 500 was shown on closed circuit Television at the Alee Theatre. Does anyone know if this is true, and if so what years did they show it and who was involved in putting on the event. I am in the process of putting together a web site on Motorsports related things that are a part of the Tri State area, and was trying to find out more on the 500 being shown. This had to be before the 500 was shown live in 1979, after the Albee had closed.
If you have info, contact me kewendel@fuse.net or post here.
Thanks

Exterior and interior view.

The Albee theatre organ now a done thing to be re-installed in Cincinnati Music Hall Ballroom by 2009.

Doris Day may have attended this theatre as a young girl and her cinema dreams came true.

Here is a November 1974 article from the Hamilton (OH) Journal-News:

CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — The City Planning Commission on Friday held a public hearing concerning the fate of the Albee movie theater, a landmark in downtown Cincinnati. Several groups asked that the movie house, which has been slated to be torn down along with several other buildings during renovation of the center city, be classified as a listed property by the commission. Such a classification would delay any permits to demolish the old theater for six months while it was under review.

The planning commission said it would announce next Friday whether to endorse the proposal to city council. "The Albee reflects a facet of our culture," said Tracy Cropp, one of those speaking to save the theater. "It is important for its craftsmanship, its design and because it was a focal point for the community."

Is that the whole article?

That's all there is.

Vintage photo of the Albee Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=11&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31699

1970 night ohoto of the Albee Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c35%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=12&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31731