In 1911, a new, two-story brick building went up on East 9th Street – home to a movie theater named “Photoplay Place. ” Described as “one of the handsomest theatres in this part of the State,” the theater could seat around 600 people. Disaster struck, however, when the theater burned in 1918, during a showing of “My Four Years in Germany.” The silent movie was an American war drama based on the real-life adventures of U. S. Ambassador to Germany James W. Gerard, adapted from his book of the same name. (For you movie buffs, the film was the first major production by Warner Brothers, and was directed by William Nigh. The United States had joined World War I in the spring of 1917, and this could be considered a propaganda piece.)
From the June 11, 1918 edition of The Hopkinsville-Kentuckian.
The theater was rebuilt, but another fire in 1942 led to a more complete overhaul and renovation, turning the building into a pared down example of the Art Moderne style.
The facade of the Princess Theatre, July 2022.
The facade is restrained – some might even call it severe – but the boisterous, gorgeous full-width marquee more than makes up for any lack of decorative embellishment on the walls!
Version #2 of the Princess Theatre, as shown on the 1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.
I like the vertical bands of brick (pilasters) on the facade, dividing the bays. I’m not sure what the ground level entryway looked like after 1942, but it looks like there were ticket booths at either end of the facade, and two sets of double doors in the middle.
Detail of the facade.
Walt Disney’s Peter Pan (a new achievement in motion picture entertainment and in Technicolor) played at the Princess Theatre in 1953, and a local shoe store, McWhirter’s, offered to buy the kiddies a ticket to the movie if they bough a pair of Weather-Bird Shoes.
Lobby entry to the Princess Theatre.
Like so many downtown movie theaters, the Princess closed in 1973. It most recently served as a restaurant and bar. Another historic theater in Hopkinsville, the Alhambra Theatre, which opened in 1928, has been in use as a live performance venue since 1983.
Brutalist ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Another great description and local architectural history. Thanks
Thanks for this post. Sure would make a nice coffee table book.
I worked at The Princess Theatre in the early 1950’s, when I was a teen. Met my husband there and I left to marry him in 1954. Your article brought back some great memories.
Why don’t the local art council or historical agencies buy this theater and make it as elegant as the Alhambra….let’s make downtown great again.