Overview

The 1,000-seat theatre opened in late May 1928 with silent movie Don Juan (1926)  starring John Barrymore.

While the theatre was being constructed, a public contest was held to choose a name. It was to be called the Jefferson Davis Theater however the name was not approved by the state funding agency who instead chose the name Alhambra after the palace in Granada, Spain, where Queen Isabella gave Christopher Columbus funds to sail to the New World.

The contractor was the Jack Cole Construction Company of Paducah. Interior design was by the Herfurth Studio of Cincinnati and the Spanish-Moorish decoration, reminiscent of a Spanish castle or courtyard, was allegedly inspired by the theatre’s name.

Sand dunes and palm trees graced the upper portion of the walls, the fire curtain featured the view from a castle in the Spanish countryside, and a cloud projector (located in the orchestra pit) cast moving clouds onto the auditorium ceiling, completing the picture.

The theatre, built as part of a municipal building, has always been owned by the local county (Christian County) and leased to an operator.

The theatre closed in December 1928 for the installation of Western Electric sound equipment, reopening on 11th September 1929 with the Crescent Amusement Company of Nashville as the operator and His Captive Woman (1929)  on the screen.

In January 1961 it was announced that the Crescent Amusement Company had sold its theatre chain to Martin Theatres of Columbus, later of Atlanta, who subsequently assumed operations at the theatre.

The Alhambra closed without explanation in early 1983, coinciding with Martin Theatres opening a new fiveplex movie theatre elsewhere in town. Jane Chapman and Becky Williams, both of Hopkinsville, wanted to save the theatre and return it to its roots of live theatre. They negotiated with Martin Theatres to use the building for two concert-style productions given they were in possession of the building lease from the Christian County Fiscal Court until 1988. After some negotiations and cleanup, the productions were mounted at the theatre in the spring of 1983 resulting in the community realizing the potential for a new use of the building.

In October 1983 the theatre was subleased to the Pennyroyal Arts Council  for use as a community performing arts center. By this time the seating capacity was 782 (main floor 593, balcony 189).

The theatre closed in the Fall of 2007 for renovations. On 17th April 2008 a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in front of the theatre, then on Friday 18th April the theatre reopened with a gala reception followed by a screening of one of the earliest silent films to have been screened at the Alhambra: The Mark of Zorro (1920)  complete with an 11-piece live orchestra conducted by Rick Benjamin.

Multiple renovations to the theatre have been completed, with the last major renovation in November 2018 which saw the lobby redesigned while retaining period features, a new stage floor and stage lighting added, and ADA accessible restrooms. The updated seating capacity is 650 (main floor 479, balcony 171). A new space, called “The Hall at the Alhambra” with a bar and seating for 80 people, was also added.