LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Kentucky Theatre will close temporarily, beginning Oct. 1.
“This is the last thing I would ever want to do. I love the Kentucky Theatre,” Mayor Linda Gorton said in a press release. “But the management group that runs the theatre contacted us. COVID-19 has steamrolled the Kentucky. Their numbers are way down and they’re having trouble getting movies.”
The Kentucky will reopen as soon as possible. The building will be maintained so it can be ready to open.
“We are anxious to see the theatre reopen when conditions are favorable," Analy Scorsone, a member of the management group, said,
The City is terminating the contract it has with the management company at the company’s request.
This will be the third time the Kentucky Theatre has temporarily shut down since opening in 1922.
The first shutdown happened in 1987 after smoke from a fire in a neighboring building damaged the theatre.
Mills said many in the community rallied together to see the theatre reopen.
"The mayor then said he'd gotten more telephone calls, more letters, and visits from folks that were demanding that the city do whatever was necessary to get the theatre back open," Mills said.
After a renovation, it held its grand reopening in April 1992.
The second closure came in March and was mandated by the government during the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened on June 1st with COVID-19 precautions in place.
The third temporary closure is, once again, due to the coronavirus. This closure is set to happen on October 1st.
