When it opened in 1930, the Ritz Theater was the premier venue for the performing arts in Albany’s historic Harlem neighborhood. Harlem was centered around the intersection of South Jackson Street and West Highland Avenue and was home to numerous Black-owned businesses. The 500-seat venue was considered the crown jewel of the neighborhood, and hosted numerous performers, including Ray Charles. It also served as a movie theatre during the Jim Crow era, when such spaces were segregated. It closed as a first-run venue in 1969 but continued to show older movies in the 1970s. It was partially restored circa 1991 and served as the Ritz Cultural Center until 2011. It has been closed since, and is beginning to show serious signs of deterioration. An effort to revitalize the Harlem neighborhood is underway, but there is little specific information about the Ritz. A plaque outside notes that it was once on the National Register of Historic Places, but it is not presently listed, presumably because non-historic changes were made to the interior at some point.