Tag: Keith Albee Theatre

Marshall University Hosting Legislative Interim Committee Meetings

The May installment of 2023 legislative interim committee meetings will take place on Marshall’s Huntington campus beginning on Sunday.

The May installment of 2023 legislative interim committee meetings will take place on Marshall’s Huntington campus beginning on Sunday. 

Sara Payne Scarboro, Marshall’s associate vice president of Government Relations, said the university welcomes the opportunity to showcase its campus and local community partnerships.

“We will highlight the wonderful things and growth going on in the city, county and here at Marshall,” Scarboro said. “Our good friends up north at WVU, they had the opportunity to host the legislature last year. Now it’s Marshall’s turn, and we are eager to make them welcome.”

Several meeting agendas highlight Marshall programs including health care, cybersecurity and aviation. Scarboro said meeting topics, including presentations from Huntington and Cabell County leaders, are all part of an economic development focus.

“All roads lead to economic development and job creation and keeping our talent in the Mountain State,” Scarboro said. “We wanted to have an opportunity to tell that story, how Marshall University is leaning in to help our state lawmakers create jobs, keep jobs and keep our students here in West Virginia.”

Scarboro said planned lawmaker field trips during interims include visits to The Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center and the Nucor steel plant site in nearby Mason County.  

“We’re going to go to Nucor on a site visit to talk with industry leadership, we’re going to examine Route 2, and how infrastructure is important to further develop that venue and that road setting for future business development.”

Scarboro said she hopes lawmakers leave Huntington with an understanding that Marshall is an economic development partner to the state, with a seat at the table.

Interims run Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Click here for a listing of meeting times and agendas.

May 7, 1928: Keith Albee Theater Opens in Huntington

The Keith-Albee Theatre opened in Huntington on May 7, 1928, with the comedy film Good Morning, Judge, a newsreel, and five stage acts. It was one of the…

The Keith-Albee Theatre opened in Huntington on May 7, 1928, with the comedy film Good Morning, Judge, a newsreel, and five stage acts. It was one of the most lavish motion picture houses ever built and, with 3,000 seats, was supposedly second in size only to New York City’s Roxy.

The “$2 million temple of amusement,” as a newspaper called it, was built on Fourth Avenue by Huntington businessmen A. B. and S. J. Hyman. It featured an elaborate interior, giant golden stage curtain, a ceiling studded with stars and clouds, and a Wurlitzer organ. It was associated with the Keith-Albee vaudeville circuit, which booked entertainers across North America.

By the late 20th century, the Keith-Albee Theatre still hosted movies and live acts, including orchestras, bands, and comedians for the Marshall University Artists’ Series. Today, it’s still home to headlining concerts and performances. Since 2006, the Keith-Albee Foundation has been raising funds to rehabilitate the building and to refurbish the original pipe organ. Some of the original theatre seats from the Keith-Albee Theatre are now on display in the West Virginia State Museum.

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