History:
Southwest Georgia's leading center for
the performing arts and the cornerstone of downtown Albany, Georgia
development, was built in 1927 on land owned by Samuel Farkas, a Jewish
immigrant who became a prominent Albany citizen after the Civil War.
This theatre was built on land that had previously been the site of
Farkas' livery stable and farm implement business. Adolph Gortakowsky,
a land tenant of Farkas, had developed the theatre concept and given
the plan to the Farkas estate. Architect Roy A. Benjamin, founder of
Kemp, Bunch and Jackson, designed the theatre and built it in Classical
Revival style. Historic Albany Theatre then became Albany, Georgia's
first building constructed with steel beams.
In the early 1970s, Albany Theatre was abandoned. Oglethorpe Development Group, Inc. founded in 1996 by James R. Miller, an African-American, purchased the theatre from the Samuel Farkas estate and is currently restoring the theatre to its former glory as a performing arts center. The theatre has a Restrictive Deed, guaranteeing that it will remain a performing arts center. In August 2006, Historic Albany Theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
