MAY 7, 1928: Huntington theater owners A.B. and S.J. Hyman opened their new "$2 million dollar temple of amusement," the Keith-Albee Theatre. The opening night's program included long-since-forgotten comic star Reginald Denny in a film titled "Good Morning, Judge," a Pathe newsreel and five acts of vaudeville. The theater, which took 14 months to complete, was named for the theatrical families of the Keith-Orpheum circuit and the Albees, who had recently acquired the Orpheum chain of theater enterprises.

1920s and '30s: The theater hosts several vaudeville shows.

1930s: The concession stand is added.

1939: Marshall Artists Series begins shows at the Keith.

1950s: The Keith-Albee's large Wurlitzer Model 240 organ that played to silent movies when the theater opened in 1928 was removed after live music had fallen out of style.

JUNE 25, 1969: "The Bridge at Remagen" premieres at the Keith-Albee. Then-Rep. Ken Hechler and other dignitaries wrote their signatures in cement in the front theater. In July 1975, the concrete was removed to install a curb for a bus stop. The movie was based on a book written by Hechler about a World War II battle for the German bridge over the Rhine River.

1976: The building is broken up into four movie theaters -- seating 1,800, 225, 225 and 120 people respectively.

MAY 1978: The Keith-Albee Theatre celebrates its 50th anniversary with two vaudeville shows and Charlie Chaplin in the silent film "The Gold Rush" with live piano accompaniment.

1988: Dustin Hoffman comes to the theater for the premiere of "Rain Man." Hoffman's character from the movie was partly based on Joseph Sullivan, a Huntington man who has autism.

JUNE 1997: Digital Theatre Stereo is installed. DTS allowed for optimum reproduction of voices and sound effects with hardly any background noise.

FEB. 5, 2001: An early morning electrical fire damaged the H.K. Kauffmann Jewelry Repair Center in downtown Huntington's Keith-Albee Theatre building. The theater suffered smoke damage. Shows resumed Feb. 9 in the smaller theaters. The main auditorium reopened in May 2001.

APRIL 2001: Steel points are installed into the ceiling of the historic theater to improve the sound for Marshall Artists Series patrons.

NOVEMBER 2004: Robert Edmunds, a professor of communication studies at Marshall University, and the Huntington Theatre Organ Project Inc. start installing a 1927 Wurlitzer Model EX pipe organ from a private collector in Indiana.

NOV. 19, 2004: Marquee Cinemas opens at Pullman Square.

SEPT. 1, 2005: The state of West Virginia commits $60,000 in its fiscal 2006 budget to the Marshall Artists Series to help it support the operational costs of presenting shows at the Keith-Albee Theatre.

JAN. 6, 2006: The Camelot Theater, the second-oldest of the three downtown cinemas operated by the Greater Huntington Theatre Corp., closes.

FEB. 1, 2006: Greater Huntington Theatre Corp. hands over the Keith-Albee to the Marshall University Foundation.

SUMMER 2006: Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center, Inc., a nonprofit corporation is formed to maintain and operate the theater.

SEPT. 16, 2006: The first of many volunteer work stations to turn the four-theater complex into a performing arts center begins. Volunteers eventually remove the dividers that separated the main theater into three theaters and the snack bar in the lobby.

DEC. 12, 2006: "We Are Marshall" movie premiere held at performing arts center and raises $200,000 for renovations.

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