Ritz Theatre

204 Marion Street,
Athens, AL

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The Ritz Theatre had its formal opening on Monday, April 30, 1928 by the Muscle Shoals Theatres Inc. It was located at 124 Marion Street (later readdressed to 204 North Marion Street).

The building was on the sight of the old M.E. Church erected in 1936, with the walls and roof of the old building retained. The building was 105 feet long and 44 feet wide, with the main auditorium being 72 feet long. The theatre had 462 opera chairs with padded seats originally, with an additional 150 veneered seats in the balcony, 66 of which were reserved for “colored persons”, reached by a stairway on the south side of the building. The booth had two new Power 6B projection machines, and the theatre could be used for movies as well as plays and vaudeville. Louis Rosenbaum was the General Manager of Muscle Shoals Theatre, Inc. at the time.

Seating capacity in 1954 was 565 and the theatre manager in 1954 was Robert Cannon. The theatre closed for good in 1963.

Contributed by Charles Van Bibber