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The Kentucky Theater, constructed in 1921-22, was designed and constructed prior to the influences of the "exotic" styles popularized by prestigious theater architects George and C.W. Rapp, John Eberson and Thomas Lamb for their movie palaces and houses constructed after 1925. Though never a movie palace, by national standards, the Kentucky Theater remains as Lexington's largest and only surviving grand movie theater from the Golden Age.

The Lafayette Amusement Company, incorporated in December 1921 by Michael Switow, Fred Levy and other local businessmen chose to build a new "palatial" theater on a leased-site adjacent to the recently completed 12-story Lafayette Hotel (1919) on East Main Street. Harry Switow from Louisville was the superintendent of construction and moved to Lexington to oversee the project. Designers for the Kentucky Theater were the prominent Louisville firm Joseph & Joseph Architects. This firm was responsible for design of the Strand Theatre (1915) in downtown Lexington and the Rialto Theatre (1921) in downtown Louisville. Construction cost was approximately $250,000 for the theatre. Paramount Publix Company leased the theater after its completion and ensured Paramount a venue in the city for its movies.

The Kentucky Theater opened its palatial doors on October 4, 1922, to an awaiting public anxious to view the city's newest motion picture theatre. Governor Edwin P. Morrow gave the grand opening address and lead in the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" with the house orchestra and the $25,000 Wurlitzer "Symphonic" organ. This theatre organ was Wurlitzer's first Style "F", Opus 562, 2 manual, eight rank instrument. The first movie shown was "The Eternal Flame" with Norma Tallmadge and Adolphe Menjou and was accompanied by H. Haden Read at the console. Read was a Wurlitzer Company theatre organ demonstrator who came to Lexington from the Rialto Theatre in Louisville. A special feature publication was included in the Sunday Lexington Herald on October 1, 1922 to announce the grand opening. This publication included extensive articles listing contractors and material suppliers involved in the Kentucky Theater. Guy Lieber of Louisville provided the oil paintings, interior decorations and supplied the woodwork for the theater's interior.

In February1927, the Kentucky Theater became one of the first fifty theaters in the nation to be outfitted with Warner Brothers new "vitaphone" sound equipment. This new "sound" was a phonograph, mechanically linked and sequenced with the film in the projector. Ironically, this new sound accompaniment system and the storm flooding of June 29, 1928 brought an end to the voice of the Mighty Wurlitzer in the Kentucky Theater.

The three-story exterior facade, one of Main Street's most elaborate, contains glazed brick with ornamented white and poly-chromed glazed terra cotta tile. A series of arched windows embellish the third story and are flanked with cartouches and keystone shields linked with terra cotta garlands. The frieze of the elegant entablature has concentric rosettes between the bays and the cornice has both dentils and modillions. The roof parapet is solid with lush tile cartouches and arabesque foliage in panels over the windows with a central acroterian-crest. The original marquee, spanning the full width of the building facade, was constructed of elaborately detailed pressed metal surface with swags, dentiled cornice-work and lighted with 4000 incandescent bulbs.

The interior of the 1276 seat theater can best be described as Italian Renaissance with "Adamesque" influences. Included in the elaborate auditorium interior were three circular art glass ceiling domes, with indirect incandescent lighting above the dome vaults. The ceiling area contains elaborately detailed plaster beams and panels augmented with Adamesque relief. Placed around the perimeter of the auditorium in plaster paneled areas were eight oval, bowl-shaped art-glass lighting fixtures. Together these art-glass fixtures provided a warm subtle lighting atmosphere which greatly enhanced the theater interior. The plaster proscenium and sound-board was detailed with poly-chromed leaf-roping, decorative fleur-de-lys borders and decorative circular grilles which fully adorned the arched screen opening. The organ screens, located within the projecting soundboard arch of the proscenium, were simple drapery-covered pilaster-flanked openings and provided the base for the overhead proscenium arch. Vertical, full-height pilasters decorated with gold-leafed Ionic and Corinthian capitals modulate the walls around the theater auditorium. Ornamental plaster bas-relief panels filled the spaces between the vertical pilasters. The entrance foyer and waiting lobby were detailed in an similar fashion.

The historic theater interior and exterior has suffered from several renovations. A "Southern Colonial" renovation, as described by "Box Office Magazine" (November 1958), removed significant portions of the original interior plaster embellishments. The auditorium was repainted in a monochromatic paint color scheme and a new wide-screen installed, along with draperies which covered all of the proscenium ornamentation. The large "Art-glass" ceiling dome was removed during the renovation and acoustical panels installed in its place. The original 4000 lamp rectangular marquee was removed and replaced with a smaller triangular-shaped "modern" marque. This marque remains and was restored in 1991.

A fire in an adjacent storefront restaurant on October 2, 1987 caused significant smoke damage to the interiors of the Kentucky and State Theaters, resulting in their closing. Public interest to reopen the Kentucky Theater was evident in the large numbers of citizens signing petitions to preserve the theater. The private sector was not able to preserve the theater and efforts were begun by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government to keep the theater as a viable institution in downtown Lexington. Under the visionary leadership and guidance of then Vice-mayor Pam Miller, the local government purchased the Kentucky Theater and the adjacent State Theatre (1929) to ensure their preservation and provide additional office space for their use.

In 1989, $1.2 million was allocated by the local government for the renovation of the theater. Subsequently, Construction Documents based on available funds and scope of work were developed by E&O Architects, Lexington, KY. Patron seats were publicly "sold and name labeled" to raise additional funds for the renovation. Funds were not available for restoration and reinstallation of the 3/14 Wurlitzer theatre organ, removed from the theater in 1977. Unfortunately, this renovation filled existing pipe organ chambers with ductwork, electrical panels and back-stage access doors and precluded installation of the theatre organ in its original pipe chambers. New main, solo and percussion chambers will be constructed within and adjacent to the theaters existing walls, providing "palatial" organ screens to the existing interior architecture.

Total seating was significantly reduced due to an intrusive thrust stage having been installed forward of the original orchestra pit. A floating wide-screen, flanked by new draperies, has been installed in front of the original proscenium opening. Plain sound-deadening acoustical wall materials have been installed in the auditorium between the decorative plaster pilasters. These acoustical treatments have given the theater a deadened "studio" sound.

The color selections chosen for the interior of the theater belie the original historical poly-chromed beauty of the theater auditorium. Additionally, recently installed high-wattage recessed light fixtures impart an "arena-like" quality to the once grand interior. Fortunately, the wisdom to purchase this theater by the local government has ensured its preservation and may allow future restoration which could return this theater to its original grandeur.

Lexington had other large theaters within walking distance of the Kentucky. These theaters included the 1500 seat Ben Ali Theatre (constructed in 1913, demolished 1n 1965) with its luxurious Tiffany Studios interior, the 1400 seat Strand Theatre (constructed in1915, demolished in 1979), the 880 seat atmospheric State Theater (constructed in 1929, renovated in 1996), the 934 seat Ada Meade Theatre (constructed in 1913, demolished in 1955), the 1250 seat Opera House (constructed in 1886, renovated in 1973) in addition to many smaller storefront theaters in downtown Lexington.

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