Knox Theatre
331 W. Oak Street,
Louisville,
KY
40203
331 W. Oak Street,
Louisville,
KY
40203
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fourth Avenue Amusement Co.
Architects: Frederic Lindley, Hugh Lloyd Nevin, Hermann Wischmeyer
Firms: Nevin, Wischmeyer & Morgan
Functions: Office Space
Previous Names: Towers Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Towers Theatre was opened on November 10, 1926 with Colleen Moore in “It Must Be Love”. Operated by the Broadway Amusement Company, they equipped the theatre with theatre organ which was on an elevator in the orchestra pit. The Towers Theatre was closed on October 11, 1951 with a boxing film “Main Event:Willy Pep v Sandy Sadler” also Piper Laurie in “Louisa” & Donald O'Connor in “Francis”.
The theatre had a refresh and was reopened as the Knox Theatre. It promoted itself as being for ‘Whites Only’ which got it into trouble with the Louisville Human Regulations Commission. It was showing sub-run double features as of April 17, 1960, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal of that date. It was closed in 1966. It became a furniture and appliance store, then an auction house followed by an antiques store.
In late-spring of 1966 the auditorium was part demolished (the rear roofless section and projection box have survived into the mid-2020’s, the remainder of the site is a car parking lot. The facade still stands in 2024.
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moviejs, dallasmovietheaters
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Settos Theatre was located in the OHIO Theatre building in Indianapolis.George Settos,owner.
My Mom decided it was a good idea to take me there to see “The Fly”. It was actually a terrible idea. I was scared to death.
The AKA should be Towers Theatre, rather than Tower Theatre. The book Old Louisville, by David Dominé and Ronald Lew Harris, has a 1926 photo showing the plural name on the vertical sign.
Ads for this cinema started to appear on November 14th, 1926. It may had opened before, but did not advertised in the paper. Ad in photo section.
The neighborhood Towers Theatre launched on a 25-year lease at 331 West Oak Street on November 10, 1926 with “It Must Be Love” with Colleen Moore. Broadway Amusement Company placed the pipe organ console in a lift so that there could be a choice of the organist being in full view or hidden away. The theatre was bathed in old gold, robin’s egg blue and ivory. Hugh Lloyd Nevin, Frederic Lindley and Hermann Wischmeyer of Nevin, Wischmeyer and Morgan Architects plans show an open design that would rival most any other neighborhood theater of that era. It was elegant.
The neighboring Towers Sweet Shop served as the de facto concession stand in the Towers' formative years. The venue added sound to remain viable and it closed at the expiry of its lease. Its final showings as the Towers Theatre were on October 11, 1951 with “Main Event: Willie Pep v. Sandy Sadler (Fight Film),” Piper Laurie in “Louisa,” and Francis, the Talking Mule in “Francis.” The seats were offered for sale that same day along with the concession equipment.
The theatre reopened after a refresh under new operators as the Knox Theatre. The theatre was for “Whites Only” according to 1964 policy which was relayed to the Louisville Human Regulations Commission as a violation. It appears to have closed in 1966 which would likely time out with a 15-year leasing expiry. It was converted to a Furniture and Appliance warehouse and also an auction house followed by an antiques store.
In 1984, a plan was unveiled to demolish the theatre. But the theater’s significant design stopped the plan for some 12 years. In April 1996 and just shy of the theater’s 70th Anniversary, the Landmarks Commission approved of the auditorium’s demolition. The plan left the theater’s facade looking about the same as it did in 1926 and it still stands in the 2020s.