RKO Albee Theatre
12 E. 5th Street,
Cincinnati,
OH
45202
12 E. 5th Street,
Cincinnati,
OH
45202
5 people
favorited this theater
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Closed by RKO with “Big Bad Mama” on September 17, 1974 and was boarded up. demolition began March 9, 1977 and took more than eight months to complete due to how well constructed the building was.
Here is Melissa Kramer’s March 4, 2010 article on the Albee.
http://melissakramerscincinnati.com/?page_id=151
October 1962 marquee photo added courtesy of Rose Taylor. JFK attended the groundbreaking of the Federal Building at 5th & Walnut.
That roof sign atop this venue only lasted 3 years until RKO took over!!!
December 24th, 1927 grand opening ad in photo section
Removal of the splendid Albee Theatre on fifth street was Cincinnati’s most stupid theater loss.
CORRECTION: the above states that “The facade was also later duplicated on the 5th Street side of the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center — about 3 blocks from where the original theater once stood.” My father worked in Urban Renewal and I clearly remember when the Convention Center was built and the Albee town down. The Albee theatre facade was NOT DUPLICATED, it is the ORIGINAL facade that was saved and placed on one of the Convention Center’s entrances. Yes, the Albee facade was saved!!!
All 8 of our RKO first run houses downtown escaped the water damage from Ohio’s 1937 flood as they were all above the waters peak by 69 feet.
when I would visit relatives in Cincinnati as a youngster from Chicago in the 50’s, there was definitely de facto segregation in public places, like movie theaters and the Coney Island amusement park.
No surprises here. In his autobiography, the comedian Dick Gregory wrote about having to sit in the segregated balcony of a Carbondale Illinois movie theater. Illinois and Ohio did not have Jim Crow laws on the books, but they existed in unofficial practice,nonetheless.
armleder I saw a number of films at the Albee in the early sixties. Gorgeous wonderful palace of a theater, including “The Music Man” in stereo sound. I attended a couple times with a black friend and have no memory of any racial discrimination.
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Melissa –
Contact me via PM on this site. If that fails, visit the ‘contact us’ page at http://www.cincyworldcinema.org
I’m working on a post about the Albee for my new website, which will be devoted to Cincinnati’s historic architecture, and I’d appreciate any comments, stories, etc., about the Albee Theater, the Emery Theater, etc.
Thanks
The ALBEE a Stanley-Warner Theatre on August 9 1974 they are showing TOUGH ! about a tough black kid, Rated G. Guess some G rated movies do play in Downtown theatres in those days. It was first run.
That’s all there is.
Here is a November 1974 article from the Hamilton (OH) Journal-News:
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) â€" 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.”
Doris Day may have attended this theatre as a young girl and her cinema dreams came true.
The Albee theatre organ now a done thing to be re-installed in Cincinnati Music Hall Ballroom by 2009.
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 or post here.
Thanks
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 .edu
Thank you!
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.
Just one more correction: the Albee opened December 24, 1927.
allen
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.
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.
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