FLEMINGSBURG — The city of Flemingsburg has its sight set on addressing the current state of the once popular Princess Theater located downtown.
The theater was built across Flemingsburg’s Town Branch in 1942,and featured films throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Originally, the building was owned by a small theater circuit called Schafer Circuit, from Morehead.
The building was then purchased and currently owned by Gary Jones, who lives in Texas, in an auction in 2000. According to Jones’ father, Bob, he bought it in order to repair the theater.
Although the building is not the original theater that stood on the site, the Princess holds many fond memories for residents of Flemingsburg and the county.
“The original building burnt in 1937,” local historian Jimmy Berry said. “It was January and “Sergeant York” starring Gary Cooper was scheduled to open. But instead, a devastating fire took the theater and the buildings on each side.”
Over the years, through various storms and high winds, the theater has sustained heavy damage, with the roof having collapsed along with the building’s back wall. Flemingsburg Mayor Bobby Money also said the theater’s floor is completely gone.
The building had also blocked water during a flood in May of 2003, backing water up into the People’s Bank.
The buildings on both sides of the theater, the old Christian Book Store and Lasting Impressions Flower shop, have had maintenance through the years and have not deteriorated as the Princess Theater has.
Recent wind storms in January caused further damage to the building, by blowing off numerous yellow bricks on the front facade of the building onto the sidewalk below. City workers cleared off the debris, and caution cones still partition where the bricks fell, to warn pedestrians of possible danger.
Money said the council briefly discussed purchasing the theater and demolishing the building during a special meeting in late February, however the council decided against it. Money said council simply did not want to buy into the liability the building poses.
As an alternative to buying the property, Money said a structural engineer will be inspecting the building on Monday of next week to determine what steps should be taken to ensure the building’s safety and the cost to do so. That information will then be relayed to owner Jones for him to potentially take action.
“It seems like the logical thing to do — it is his property,” Money said.
Money’s hope for the time being is to see what action needs to be taken for the aging theater and for the city and Jones to work together to make it happen.
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