Wedged in between a parking lot and a few small shops, it doesn't look much different from the other two movie theaters in town, the Camelot and the Cinema.

A sign displaying the names of its two founders, a marquee with the movies currently playing and a few slightly wrinkled movie posters adorn the exterior.

Look beyond the signs, though, and it becomes apparent this isn't the average everyday theater.

A long-unused ticket booth stands in the middle of the entrance. The walls are made of marble, and the intricate metalwork on the windows gleams in the midday sun.

Above the doors are the names of movie companies on orange backgrounds: 20th Century Fox, Paramount and now-defunct RKO.

Inside, the transition bet-ween ages continues. There is another ticket booth built into the wall on the left, long since replaced by an electric machine at the concession stand.

The lobby opens up onto the second floor, complete with mirrors, stained glass exit signs and flowers of wrought iron in the railings.

On either side, a slowly twisting staircase leads to a 1,000-seat balcony.

Directly ahead, through two sets of double-doors, is a magnificent theater.

The auditorium was once a single room, with 1,800 main seats and 100 lodge seats on each side, as well as the balcony.

The seats lead down to a 3,000 pound curtain. The curtain hides a stage where countless performers have appeared, and where Marshall has had the Marshall Artists Series since 1939.

Just behind it is the largest film screen in town where today's popular films are projected, as they have been for decades.

These are the most visible reminders of the history of the Keith-Albee Theatre. What these images don't reflect is an even greater history that extends back to the theater's opening some 71 years ago.

The Herald-Advertiser, a now-defunct Huntington newspaper, ran a special edition on May 6, 1928, to commemorate the Keith-Albee's opening the next day.

Llocal journalists could not deny the Keith-Albee's majesty. According to one column in the Herald-Advertiser, "Only in size does any other theater surpass the local playhouse and those are located in the largest cities in the world."

The Herald-Advertiser off-ered a history of the building's construction. Frequently mentioned was Edward Franklin Albee, a businessman who first used the word "vaudeville" to refer to variety show entertainment.

Albee met fellow businessman Benjamin Franklin Keith in 1885. The two spent their last $500 on remodeling a dime store into a theater, starting a vaudeville circuit that visited nearly 700 theaters throughout the country.

Keith and Albee lent their name and money to a series of theaters in cities along the East Coast, including Boston, Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio.

The bill for opening night, May 7, 1928, included a stage performance by blues and jazz vocalist Rae Samuels, other unnamed vaudeville acts and a screening of "Good Morning Judge" starring Reginald Denny. General admission to the first night's activities was only 50 cents, an eighth of what a matinee picture costs today.

The Herald-Advertiser re-ported that the Keith-Albee's original owner, A.B. Hyman, said, "We have realized our ambition to give Huntington something she is entitled to.

"Huntington has been kind to us and we are anxious to repay that kindness with real service, such as this house represents."

Today, Hyman's grandson, Derek Hyman, is president of the Greater Huntington Theatre Corporation. The GHTC operates all three cinemas in downtown Hunting-ton.

The younger Hyman said the budget his grandfather had expected for the theater was well below the final price tag of $2 million.

"He said he wanted to spend about $200,000," Derek Hyman said. "Lamb [the architect] said OK and went to work. I think they spent $200,000 before they got out of the basement."

The Keith-Albee still runs about 15 showings a day on the weekends. It may not have the glamour it once had, but it has kept up with the rapidly changing pace of movie technology. Digital Theatre Stereo sound was installed in the main auditorium in 1997.

According to Derek Hyman, the Keith-Albee's main auditorium is the largest digital theatre in the Tri-State.