Vogue Theater
3727 Lexington Road,
Louisville,
KY
40206
3727 Lexington Road,
Louisville,
KY
40206
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Multiple photos added via Mike Swayze. It appears the building was completely gutted, including the facade. Only the vertical sign appears to have been repurposed for the retail spaces. The horizontal marquee is pictured as having been demolished circa 1998. So the current one is a replica.
When I worked for Associated Theatres, owned by Henry Saag, the Vogue had been operated by Associated for decades.
It was the “Theater of tomorrow” with RCA Television Sound and the largest free parking in Kentucky. December 22nd, 1939 grand opening ad in photo section.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyum/5024180469/
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A night photo from 2009:
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My daytime photo from April 2010:
http://www.agilitynut.com/10/4/voguet.jpg
Theater has been redeveloped as retail space; looks like they kept the facade and the neon. Here is a daytime photo.
Here is a day photo.
Vogue Theatre, Saint Matthews
Here is a night photo.
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I attended a special screening of the original “King Kong” at the Vogue some years ago. The evening was hosted by the “Wonderfest” happening at a nearby hotel, and featured famed special effects expert Ray Harryhausen as the opening speaker! I still have the special ticket for the evening somewhere along with a videotape I shot of Mr. Harryhausen’s speech. The Vogue was a delightful place to watch a classic movie – I’ll always remember that evening!
I enjoyed the Vogue many times during its last eight years of operation, but my memories are soured by that last year or so… Management’s brilliant decision to compete against a new arthouse multiplex by showing only that mediocre “The Full Monty” movie for seven months straight, and by refusing to dismiss an employee who didn’t know how to make change (sometimes he gave me several dollars less than I was owed, but once in a while he gave me several dollars more than I was owed — never the correct amount!) Now the arthouse multiplex is mostly mainstream, and we have to drive to Lexington, Indianapolis, or even nearby small town Columbus, Indiana to see some of the movies that would be playing to big crowds if the Vogue were still here…
Here’s a blast from the past! I was assistant manager of the Vogue Theater around 1948, 1949 and/or 1950. If I remember correctly, the manager at the time was named Ira Allen. I actually met my first wife (now deceased) in the theater. I have many other memories of the Vogue (some amusing) if anyone is interested. My address is
Sigh….One day I hope to do “The Time Warp” again…So many midnight movies…The Wall…Heavy Metal…The Song Remains the Same…A Clockwork Orange…and that one about Transexual Transylvanians. First place I ever saw 2001. Romeo & Juliet. A Lion in Winter (or was it A Man for all Seasons?). I remember picking up the Vogue calendar (at Eherler’s Ice Cream Parlor, no less) and hanging it on my bedroom wall. I wish I still had a few of those…
There are many books that discuss in detail the reasons that theatres are being razed all across the land, and the Society that keeps track of this has a web site with a Bookshop with such books and much more at: www.HistoricTheatres.org
I was manager of the Vogue from 1980 until it closed in 1998. During that time I was able to do quite a bit of research into its hostory, so if anybody has any questions they can contact me. My address is Unffortunately I don’t ahve a computer with a scanner, so I can’t send any photos to Cinema Treasures at this time.
I used to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show at this theatre every weekend when I was in high school. I was aware that it had closed but didn’t know there were plans to tear it down — I just drove past it over Thanksgiving weekend and saw the for sale sign. I know that there was a renovation done on the theatre sometime in the 1990’s, and the theatre seemed to go downhill after that. The Louisville Historical League has it listed as one of their most endangered places. There isn’t any information on their site but I’m sure there is someone listed there that you could contact: http://www.louisvillehistoricalleague.com/ Also try the University of Louisville Archives at the Eckstrom (Main) Library — ask for Tom Owen, he knows more about Louisville history than anyone. I would love to hear how your paper turns out!
i’m doing a paper on why this theater shouldn’t be torn down and I was hoping someone could give any kind of history about it or anything else that would help the audience of my paper to appreciate it and mourn it’s passing
it hasnt been torn down yet…. no pics yet, im planning on driving over there and snapping a few before its gone. i have to add that it breaks my heart the way my city has no regard for the historic neighborhoods and buildings, and tears places like this down every year. it leaves natives feeling alienated and pushed aside.
I was in Louisville performing at six flags for the season, and stumbled across this theater. I called the local realtor and told him I was interested in buying the theater. I was told they currently had a contract on it and was planning on tearing the theater down. I will tell you the theater went down fast after being closed. The marquee was held up by 2x4’s. You could tell the inside was in bad shape from water damage. Too bad, this was a cool theater. I haven’t been back to see if it was torn down or not.