A year after opening, Maiden Alley Cinema has livened up downtown Paducah

PADUCAH – Giant fake watermelon slices hang from the ceiling, and the chrome of a silver Harley Davidson V-Rod sparkles in the lobby against a black and white still from the ’70s classic “Easy Rider.”

It’s not just a movie theater.

Maiden Alley Cinema, 112 Maiden Alley in Paducah, Ky., offers more than movies. The theater was opened by the Paducah Film Society one year ago and has made progress in all of the programs it had slated for its first year. One of the programs is an art gallery curated by Bob Shapiro.

“My goal is to support area artists,” Shapiro said. “They don’t have to live in the area, but they must have some connection with the area.”

Shapiro said he has been pushing for the art gallery for three years.

“There were many times to eliminate the gallery aspect because of budget problems,” Shapiro said.

The gallery has made a comfortable home within the theater, and artwork covers the walls past which patrons walk to see a movie.

“Most people are used to going to a commercial movie theater, but they are always pleasantly surprised when they see the artwork. I pushed to have a gallery within the Maiden Alley Cinema,” Shapiro said. “I thought it would be a wonderful asset to the movie theater. I thought they would work hand-in-glove.”

The current exhibit is by artist Eva Nikolova, a 1998 SIUC graduate from the School of Art and Design. Her exhibit is about her experience immigrating to the United States from Bulgaria at age 15. Her experience is told through black and white prints.

The theater does show bigger films, such as “The Road to Perdition,” but independent films are the basis of the theater’s existence. Portions of the Big Muddy Film Festival have been shown at Maiden Alley Cinema.

“Memento,” “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” three popular independent films, have also been shown at the Alley.

“From the beginning, the film society has wanted to do films you can’t get anywhere else,” said Jason Turner, manager of the theater and SIUC cinema and photography graduate.

In light of heavy success over the weekend with midnight showings of “The Wizard of Oz,” played in-sync with the Pink Floyd album, “The Dark Side of the Moon,” Turner said he is planning on starting a new lineup of midnight programming. He said he is thinking about featuring films like, “Spinal Tap,” “Cheech & Chong” and “The Wall.”

The theater is currently applying for a liquor license so that the audience can enjoy a beer while watching a movie. There is also a “Meal and a Movie” package in the works that would offer dinner at an area restaurant and then a movie.

The theater also hosts a children’s program on the first Saturday of every month. Twenty tickets are given away for under-privileged children to see movies, Turner said.

The theater has stadium seating. The same company that furnishes Volvos makes the seats. It has a state-of-the-art sound system by Dolby and can be rented for private parties.

“They didn’t want to build another regular theater with neon lights,” said Turner of the Paducah Film Society.

All profits from the theater and the gallery are put back into programming for the film society. The theater is used and owned by a three-way partnership.

The film society runs the movie programs and art gallery. The River Heritage Museum, which will open in the spring, is host to local historical artwork and artifacts. The Seaman’s Church Institution also uses the facility as a part of the Center for Maritime Education to train towboat pilots.

Since the opening of the theater, the surrounding area has livened up as well. The downtown river district of Paducah is becoming more entertainment-oriented, and more businesses are coming to the area, according to Shapiro.

“It’s evolving,” Shapiro said. “It is turning out to be more powerful than I imagined. The arts tend to lead you in very interesting places.”

Reporter Arin Thompson can be reached at [email protected]