Paducah has a fascinating history of theaters beginning in the 1850s. There were all sorts of entertainment from canvases, moving on a scroll in the early 1860s, to dramas, operas, vaudeville, silent pictures, and finally moving pictures with sound. PT Barnum’s famous General Tom Thumb, performed in Paducah as well as Barrymore, and even Will Rogers early in his career. This presentation will cover over 130 years of entertainment in Paducah. Some of the venues to be included are the St. Clair, Morton’s Opera House, the Kentucky Theatre, and also the Arcade history and well as the beginnings of the Columbia Theatre.
Roy Hensel is an avid history lover. He has served as a board member of the McCracken County Library, the Market House Museum, and with the Paducah Ambassadors. He gives tours of Oak Grove Cemetery and city tours for the passengers of the steamboats which frequent the riverfront. Having served on the Market House Theatre board twice, Hensel has been acting there for almost 39 years.