History of the Keith-Albee

Hailed as West Virginia's "two million dollar temple of amusement," the theatre was named the Keith-Albee after the theatrical families of the Keith-Orpheum vaudeville circuit and the Albees, who had recently acquired the Orpheum chain of theatrical enterprises. The old Orpheum theatre was too small to house the huge crowds its vaudeville shows attracted. A larger theatre with twice the seating capacity was needed.

Original estimates of the cost of the Keith-Albee went as high as $400,000, but when construction was completed 14 months after groundbreaking, the cost had skyrocketed to nearly two million dollars. More than two million bricks and 550 tons of steel were necessary for construction. The theater officially opened on May 7, 1928.

The Keith-Albee had opened right before the Depression hit the United States. Movies managed to survive, but stage shows, partly because of the introduction of the sound into movies, died. There was no longer a need for the pipe organ, which eventually was sold to a private collector, but in 2001 the Huntington Theatre Organ Project, Inc., purchased a 1927 Wurlitzer organ and reinstalled it in the theater. The cloud machines and the ceiling stars became a useless idle, but the Keith-Albee survived. Prices rose from the quarter admission, but people still packed the theatre.

Things changed with the Great Flood of 1937. For Huntington, it resulted in five people dead, millions of dollars in damage and tens of thousands left homeless. The theatre re-emerged in the 1940s, providing and need for escapism and again brought entertainment to the Tri-State area, as people used motion pictures for entertaining relief in the 1930s.

A decade later, the Keith-Albee, like all other theatres across the country, lost flocks of patrons to television. Box office receipts fell sharply, and they never recovered completely, but the Hymans who had acquired nearly every theatre in Huntington, managed to bring the Keith-Albee and other theatres through the 50s, 60s and early 70s. 1

Today, the theater is used for weddings, special events, touring Broadway shows, music concerts and dance recitals, as well as home to Marshall University's Marshall Artist Series.

The original details in the local news

• Actor's needs provided for in 21 rooms. 2

                        "Each of the dressing rooms is equipped with a shower bath, lavatory,                                        dressing tables, equipment racks and wardrobes. The floors are covered with                            expensive rugs and the entire effect is luxurious and pleasing."

• Backstage Area Of Keith-Albee Is Elaborate. 3

                        "Large Asbestos Curtain Provides Protection Against Possible Fire. Stage is 90                           feet wide and 45 deep. Fifty-one lines for drops and curtains provided in new                           structure."

• Ladies to find true luxury in smoking rooms. 4

                       "Pleasant surprises are ever to be wishes for and your wishes, dear lady, will                             be granted in the matter of lounges, smoking rooms and cosmetic rooms in                               the new Keith-Albee house rooms, yes rooms. Upstairs and down.

                       Lovely, dainty, feminine furnishings with all the air of luxury which could be                           desired by the beauty loving heart full of longing for gorgeous surroundings.                             Both upstairs and downstairs rooms are furnished in Louis XVI style, the walls                         of the latter hung with gold silk, the former with a little French stripe."

• Clouds, Sun and Stars are aped. 5

                       "Some of the more elaborate lighting effects achieved in the new Keith-Albee                           Theatre, for their sheer beauty and elaborateness of conception, can only be                             described as breath-taking

                       "The theatre is dimly lit. Suddenly cleverly concealed lights, lighted at careful                             intervals, begin to flood the immense, high-arched, sky blue ceiling."

Keith-Albee Theater Sign Rebuilt 

During a windstorm, the original 84-year-old copper-clad sign partially collapsed and had to be removed for public safety. The removal of the sign drew a large crowd and bystanders taking light bulbs as mementos and keepsakes. 

The sign was left in storage for two years while the customer looked for funding for reconstruction. Trifecta Productions decided to get involved in funding the project. The owner of Trifecta, Joe Murphy, appreciates the history and beauty of old signs. The company then put together a "Save Our Sign" campaign. The funds were raised at a concert held at the Keith-Albee with local talent, as well as some big names. Paris Signs company then got to rebuild the sign and replace the old bulbs with LED lights.

Fun fact: It took nearly a mile of wiring to connect all the sockets and lamps in the new Keith-Albee sign. Being almost 40 feet tall, it only took about five hours for installation. 6