RKO Keith's Theatre

Ken Roe on May 21, 2007 at 11:29 am

Here is a link to some wonderful photographs of the RKO Keith’s Theatre – courtesy of Phillip A. Edwards (click on photos to enlarge):
http://www.jrjunction.com/keiths.htm

kencmcintyre on December 3, 2006 at 7:10 am

Here is an article about the closing dated 1/1/67:

FINAL CURTAIN WILL FALL AT KEITH’S THEATER

“It marked an epoch in the realm of vaudeville distinguished for the excellence of the thespian art amid surroundings that surpassed the elegance of Babylonian settings.” So declared a theater critic on opening night at Keith’s Theater on Jan. 26, 1920. On that night of nights, Syracuse’s “great white way” became
even brighter from the illumination of 5,000 incandescent lights, “proclaiming a new era in theatrical, musical, social and business affairs” in a city already synonymous with entertainment. Local newspapers hailed the new theater as “a temple of amusement” and “a Syracuse institution.”

On opening night society turned out in all its glittering glory. Jewels and glamorous evening attire blended with the harmonious color scheme of the theater’s decor. On the bill were Belle Baker, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, Polly Walker and Miller & Mack, some of the most celebrated vaudeville acts of the day.
Such a show could be compared with television variety shows of today.

Full of years and honors, Keith’s is scheduled to succumb to the wrecker’s maul in April. It will dim its lights forever Thursday night. Down will come the structure, built at a cost of more than two million dollars, with its Italian marble columns and floors. The city is negotiating purchase of the building but
no price has been announced. It is expected, however, the price will be upwards of $700,000.

“The era of the 3,000 seat theater is drawing to a close,” Dave Levin, manager of Keith’s said. “Such palaces are no longer practical.” Walking through the theater, one cannot help but marvel at the magnificent Czechoslavakian crystal chandeliers and the solid marble walls and pillars , which marked those bygone days of elegance. As early as 1910, the Keith’s syndicate had been eager to acquire this property but hadn’t been able to do so. After smoothing out details, however, only one parcel remained. On the south end was a roadway used by the Clark Music Co. for shipping and receiving. The syndicate agreed to build a tunnel to the rear of the Clark building.

The new theater was designed by T. W. Lamb, a noted architect of the day. But the architect’s dream must
have been the contractor’s nightmare. The solid marble columns, about 12 feet high, hold up beams hidden behind the “gingerbread” ornamentation. “This theater was built in the days when labor and materials were cheap,“ Levin commented. Cheap or costly, the theater buffs are shedding tears and hate to see it go.

DanielBates on February 25, 2006 at 3:50 am

I remember vividly the theatres on Salina Street in Syracuse, primarily for the mostly superb films I saw there first-run, while being taught the Russian language at Syracuse University’s USAF “Skytop” facility during the 1950s: “Rio Bravo,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “12 Angry Men” (the Henry Fonda version), “Ride Lonesome” and “Comanche Station,” the Tiomkin-scored “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” and “Tension at Table Rock,” “Sweet Smell of Success,” John Ford’s “The Horse Soldiers”—the list is endless. Even the schlock is memorable—Ray Harryhausen’s “20 Million Miles to Earth” gains considerably when first experienced in such a movie palace as the Loew’s State, across the street from the RKO Keith. (Happily, that particular venue remains today.) It’s the entire moviegoing experience, theatre plus cinema, that thrives in the memory. The movie by itself is only a portion of the event.