For more than a century, the Princess Theatre has been a fixture of Second Avenue in downtown Decatur. On a rainy night, you can spot the glow from the Art Deco marquee from blocks away.
But the full history of the Princess goes all the way back to the horse and buggy days, when the building that is now the Princess was the livery stable for the Casa Grande Hotel, serving travelers in a growing river town.
In 1919, after 32 years as a stable, the building was completely transformed into a silent film and vaudeville house and christened the Princess Theatre, quickly becoming one of North Alabama’s liveliest addresses for movies and live acts.
The look people see today came with a 1940–41 Art Deco makeover. Architect Albert Frahn wrapped the building in sleek modern lines and topped it with a soaring two-story marquee edged in neon.
Inside, he added a terrazzo lobby floor in the shape of Alabama, complete with the Tennessee River and the dot of Decatur, plus rich colors and glow-in-the-dark murals to guide moviegoers to their seats. In its heyday, the old Princess was truly the grand dame of downtown.
But, like many downtown movie palaces, the Princess eventually fell on hard times. Competition from malls and multiplexes forced it to close as a first-run movie house in the late 1970s.
In 1978, the City of Decatur purchased the shuttered theatre and invested $750,000 in renovations, reopening it in the early 1980s as a 677-seat performing arts center and securing its rightful place on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
Today, the Princess hosts concerts, classic films, local theatre and dance, and a popular singer-songwriter series that brings audiences within arm’s length of the talented performers.
The theatre is also a major hub for arts education, welcoming thousands of students and teachers each year for school-day shows and workshops.
Keeping a historic venue like the Princess healthy takes a lot of helping hands.
Over the years, the City of Decatur, local arts leaders, volunteers, and a number of businesses and families have worked together to preserve and improve the theatre.
In 2017, Daikin America was grateful for the opportunity to join that effort with a $100,000 contribution toward restoration of the Princess marquee—a centerpiece of its iconic façade.
Thanks to many community partners pulling in the same direction, the “grand old dame” of downtown isn’t just a memory—it’s the heartbeat of an arts district that’s still very much alive and looking ahead to its next hundred years.