The largest audiences that gather to see movies in a local venue are not in a commercial cinema but at the Alhambra Theatre downtown.
For example, two elementary schools — Martin Luther King Jr. and Crofton — are each sending 400 students to the Alhambra this week to see “Toy Story 4,” said Margaret Prim, executive director of the Pennyroyal Arts Council.
The arts council manages the 650-seat Alhambra, which the county has owned since its construction in 1928. The Main Street landmark became a performing arts center for the community in 1983, when the county stopped leasing the property to a cinema company.
Movies were not shown at the Alhambra again until 2013, when the arts council purchased digital equipment to show films.
The equipment, costing about $36,000, came from several sources. The family of Hopkinsville resident Kay McKinney contributed $15,000, and that gift was matched by a $15,000 Downtown Renaissance grant. Christian Fiscal Court provided $5,000 and Music Central donated $1,000.
The arts council now shows classic movies several weekends throughout the year.
The 2019 line-up concludes this weekend with three holiday movies.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
