Russell Theatre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Russell Theatre
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 Location in Kentucky
Location in the United States
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| Location | 9 E. Third St. |
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| Nearest city | Maysville, Ky |
| Built | 1930 |
| Architect | Frankel and Curtis |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival, Moorish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 06000216 |
| Added to NRHP | March 31, 2006 |
The Russell Theatre is a historic building in Maysville, Kentucky. It was first built to be a movie theater. Over the years, it has been used for many other things. A businessman named Col. J. Russell Barbour announced plans for the theater in 1928. It cost $125,000 to build, which was a lot of money back then! The theater opened its doors on December 4, 1930. The very first movie shown there was Whoopee!, starring Eddie Cantor. Before the theater was built, the land was used for large grocery warehouses.
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What Does the Russell Theatre Look Like?
The Russell Theatre is a large, three-story building. It is about 80 feet wide and 165 feet long. This means it covers an area of about 13,000 square feet. The outside of the building has a special style. It mixes Spanish and Moorish Revival designs. You can see a tall tower on each side of the main front of the building.
Cool Details Inside and Out
The ticket booth, where you would buy your movie tickets, is decorated with special Rookwood tiles. Even though it was mainly a movie theater, the Russell Theatre also had dressing rooms. These were for live performers. There was even a pit for an orchestra to play music during shows. The main movie room was designed to look like a beautiful Mediterranean garden. It had fake Lombardy poplar trees and statues of famous writers in the walls. At the end of a movie, a rainbow would even appear over the stage!
The History of the Russell Theatre
Col. Russell ran the theater until 1935. After that, a company called the Schine group took over. The Russell Theatre became famous in 1953. It hosted the world premiere of a movie called The Stars Are Singing. This movie starred Rosemary Clooney, who was from Maysville.
Changes Over the Years
In the early 1970s, another group called the Panther Group managed the theater. They repainted many of the beautiful, deep colors inside with bright, primary colors. The Panther Group continued to operate the theater until 1983. After that, the building was used for many different businesses. It was a restaurant, a used furniture store, and even a used clothing store. It was also used by a newspaper company for a while before it finally closed down.
Bringing the Theatre Back to Life
After the theater closed, a big storm caused a lot of damage. Strong winds ripped off part of the roof. The damage was not fixed right away. Because of this, rain got inside and badly damaged the plaster walls. In 1995, a group of people decided to help. They formed a committee to restore the building. They fixed the roof and made the outside look beautiful again. The inside of the theater is still being restored, but a lot of progress has been made.
