Madison Theater
730 Madison Avenue,
Covington,
KY
41011
730 Madison Avenue,
Covington,
KY
41011
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Sorry, I put the wrong link for the 1947 photo. It’s here.
The three photos of the Madison in the November 20, 1967, issue of Boxoffice can now be seen at this link.
The 1947 photo of the auditorium is in the Thortel fabrics ad on this page of Boxoffice.
The Lyric was operated for most of the 1920s by Godfrey Kotzin. L. B. Wilson bought the house in 1927. The news was published in the November 22 issue of the Kentucky Post, but I can’t find it online.
L.B. Wilson was my great-grandfather’s brother.
A photo of the auditorium of the Madison Theatre illustrated an ad for Thortel Fireproof Fabrics in Boxoffice of March 29, 1947.
Nice photo of a great looking theatre.Covington should proud to have it on main street.
Nice photo.
2009 photo of the Madison Theatre.
View link
Boxoffice contradicts itself. The issue of January 5, 1946, said this: “The inclement weather has delayed work on the rebuilding of the Madison Theatre in Covington, Ky., gutted by fire several months ago.”
Then the March 16, 1946, issue says this: “The Madison Theatre, Covington, Ky., which is being completely rebuilt after total destruction by fire, is now 70 percent completed.”
Gutted, or completely destroyed? You decide.
But while Boxoffice apparently couldn’t be bothered to report on the fire itself (at least I’ve been unable to find such an item,) a renovation of the Madison more than two decades later rated three photos in the November 20, 1967, issue.
This is a picture of the Lyric, which eventually became the Wilson, then the Madison.
http://www.nkyviews.com/kenton/kenton319.htm
Here is a recent shot of the Madison at night.
This is a January 2009 photo.
Another 1982 photo is here
1982 photo of the Madison Theatre.
View link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3207804256/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/3207804824/
Yawn
A good time was had by all at the recent Bob Weir and Ratdog show at the Madison. Caution: Mr. Dog seems to be encouraging you to perform some illegal activity while listening to his music.
http://tinyurl.com/5qq9cx
A 2008 photo can be seen here.
Here is a working link for the Madison website.
This is a recent night view of the Madison Theater.
A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1510 style 109 was installed in the Lyric Theater on 11/17/1926.
In 1946 the Madison theater was a rebuild by F&Y Building Services out of Columbus,Ohio.
Here is a 1948 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ysabcq
A 2006 photo of the Madison Theater can be seen here.
This is a 2004 photo of the Madison Marquee in Covington.
Things don’t look to rosey for the Madison Theatre. Here is an article from the Kentucky Post.
Theater bankruptcy petition is dismissed
By Jeanne Houck
Post staff reporter
A bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday dismissed a reorganization petition developer Esther Johnson filed in June in hopes of saving the Madison Theater in Covington.
Judge William Howard, presiding in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lexington, found that Madison Entertainment, the company Johnson formed to operate the theater, failed to provide monthly operating reports and other documents requested by the bankruptcy trustee assigned to the case, failed to follow an operating order he approved and was not using Madison Theater accounts properly.
Johnson did not return phone calls Wednesday.
But the judge’s order appears to clear the way for Provident Bank of Cincinnati, which is trying to collect on a $2.8 million mortgage, to resume foreclosure proceedings in Kenton Circuit Court.
The proceedings were by law automatically put on hold when Madison Entertainment filed a petition in bankruptcy court, seeking to work out a plan to make overdue payments to creditors while keeping the theater open.
The theater at 728 Madison Ave. and an adjoining office and apartment building at 730 Madison Ave. have an assessed value of $750,000. But Provident Bank and other creditors have filed claims totaling more than $3 million.
Among the creditors is the city of Covington, which gave Madison Entertainment a $149,000 loan to help renovate the theater, which reopened in December 2001.
The building, which dates to 1911, sat empty for nearly 25 years after it closed as a movie theater in 1977. Johnson bought it in 1988 to save it from razing. She spent nearly $3 million to transform it into a showplace for live entertainment.
Johnson has said Madison Entertainment got into financial trouble because the theater cost more than estimated to renovate and because after it opened, it generated less revenue than expected.
Publication Date: 10-14-2004
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