Uptown Theatre

1502 Bardstown Road,
Louisville, KY 40205

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 21, 2017 at 3:59 pm

I haven’t been able to determine if the firm designed the Uptown Theatre itself, but the Schuster Building was designed by architects Nevin, Wischmeyer & Morgan (Hugh Nevin, Herman Wischmeyer and Frederick Morgan.)

After leaving the firm, Wischmeyer worked on the Louisville Scottish Rite Temple, photos of which can be found on the Internet, so he at least was certainly capable of creating the sort of restrained, elegant auditorium that both the Temple and the Uptown Theatre possess.

DNCROSS1
DNCROSS1 on January 8, 2017 at 3:05 am

Fond memories of going to movies at the Uptown Theatre from my home on Sherwood Avenue (off Bardstown Road, a block south of the Uptown) in the 1950s.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 16, 2015 at 11:31 pm

April 1st, 1928 grand opening ad posted in photo section. Ad said that it will opening on the 7th, but no ad in the paper that day. Ad appeared on the 8th.

tntim
tntim on September 21, 2015 at 2:37 am

This link is to the October 27, 1928 issue of the “Exhibitors Herald and Picture World” that has pictures of the Uptown Theater. View Link

Mike Richardson
Mike Richardson on March 12, 2010 at 12:38 pm

continued…

“It remained in storage until acquired for the Strand project in 2004.”

Mike Richardson
Mike Richardson on March 12, 2010 at 12:37 pm

From Strand Newsletter 3/12/10

“The Strand Theatre Pipe Organ, endowed by the Shelby County Historical Society, has taken another step closer to rebuilding. The Strand’s organ was manufactured by the Louisville Pipe Organ Company (LPO) in 1928. It was one of a handful of instruments the firm made specifically for theatre use.

Our organ (Strand Theatre, Shelbyville, IN), Opus 531, was built in Terre Haute Indiana after LPO moved from Louisville. It was originally built for the Sipe Theatre in Kokomo, Indiana. The theatre never took the instrument, so it was installed in the Uptown Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. This organ was removed from the theatre and installed in a church in Tell City Indiana. In 1977 it was removed from the church and placed in storage."

http://www.strand-theatre-shelbyville.org/

Scottoro
Scottoro on July 21, 2008 at 12:44 pm

Though the Uptown was a second run theatre by the 1960s, for some strange reason Planet of the Apes opened here on an exclusive first run engagement in 1968.

kamiel
kamiel on October 6, 2007 at 5:39 am

I uploaded a picture of the theater from the 1970s, if anyone is interested:

View link

Since it’s public domain, it can be added here if someone knows how.

FilmWolf
FilmWolf on May 2, 2007 at 9:39 am

That’s correct, kamiel, with the last being The Vogue in St.Matthews (itself now sadly gutted and converted to retail space.)…

kamiel
kamiel on April 17, 2007 at 10:50 pm

What I think was the lobby is now a Qdoba restaurant’s dining room. Ticket window is still sort of there. I think this was the 2nd to last single-screen neighborhood theater in Louisville when it closed.

FilmWolf
FilmWolf on April 9, 2007 at 2:42 pm

Many thanks for the info about the Schuster Building, “Lost Memory”. A few other points that I wanted to make in my initial entry about The Uptown was that it was probably the last theatre in Louisville to still be using carbon-arc projectors (it converted briefly to xenon lamps prior to its closing). Also, the marquee that hung over the front sidewalk since its opening in 1928 was destroyed by the tornado that struck the city on April 3, 1974. The restored Schuster Building currently has a pseudo marquee of similar dimensions hanging in its place.