The Rigney

08/19/2025

Progress is not for the faint of heart (or for those with a fear of heights)! Both the Rigney and the Courthouse are getting a little work done today under blue skies!

07/31/2025

Thank you KXCV-KRNW for your coverage on the Rigney and for covering local news all over Northwest Missouri! 💚

07/17/2025

On behalf of the Albany Community Development Corporation and the Albany Legacy Fund, we are pleased (and excited) to announce that we have met our second matching grant challenge thanks to a significant boost from BTC Bank! The second $50,000 matching grant challenge was issued by the Parman Family Foundation in memory of Vance and Avis Parman, and like the first challenge, this goal was achieved in just two weeks. We are so grateful for the quick and generous response from our local businesses, community members, and friends near and far.

This phase of funding will go toward securing the exterior doors and windows of the structure so that restoration work may begin on the interior. This is a large project, so it is never too late to donate, and no amount is ever too small or insignificant. Follow along with us at https://www.therigney.org/.

Pictured from left to right: Devon Ellis, Quentin McConkey, Rex Homan, Jill Clair, Darlene King, Derek Brown, Phil Glick, Mackenzie Manring, Linda Place, Gene Hogue

07/11/2025

We love reading these old articles about the Rigney. This one is from the Albany Capital in December of 1914 after the theater's opening weekend. A fine theater, indeed!

Next week you can expect to see our masonry restoration crew returning to the square to finish the tuckpointing work by the end of summer.

Our second matching grant challenge from the Parman Family Foundation is off to a great start! Thank you to all who have donated, shared posts, sent out good vibes, etc. We appreciate each and every one of you. If you feel compelled to give, checks can be made out to the Albany Legacy Fund/Rigney and dropped off or mailed to Albany City Hall at 106 E Clay St, Albany, MO 64402. More details and online giving are available at https://www.therigney.org/Match.

07/04/2025

Here's the link to our movie in case you want to share it with family and friends at your Independence Day gatherings!

Our next $50,000 matching grant challenge from the Parman Family Foundation will run through Labor Day! Checks can be made out to the Albany Legacy Fund/Rigney and dropped off or mailed to Albany City Hall at 106 E Clay St, Albany, MO 64402. More details and online giving are available at https://www.therigney.org/Match.

Thank you for your support, and have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

MATCHING GRANT CHALLENGE: The Rigney has qualified for a $50,000 matching grant challenge! Any funds raised between June 16-July 15, 2025 will be matched dol...

07/02/2025

Have you heard the news? We met our original goal of $50k, and we did it in just two weeks!! This money will be matched by the Patterson Family Foundation. WAY TO GO, Albany!

Now we are moving on to a new goal: The Parman Family Foundation, in memory of Vance and Avis Parman, has challenged us to raise another $50,000 by September 1. They will match this amount dollar for dollar. This is an incredible opportunity for us, and we hope you will keep rallying your friends and family to give.

Checks can be made out to the Albany Legacy Fund/Rigney and dropped off or mailed to Albany City Hall at 106 E Clay St, Albany, MO 64402. More details and online giving are available at https://www.therigney.org/Match.

Thank you SO much for your support!

06/26/2025

A couple of great girls stopped by after cheer camp earlier this week to shine up the windows for the Albany Rhythm ‘N’ Roots Festival! We will have a display at the Festival on Saturday evening in front of the theater. If you are planning on attending, please stop by and see us. We thank you again for your support!

Find out more about our 30-day matching grant challenge at: https://www.therigney.org/Home
More about the Albany Rhythm ‘N Roots Festival: https://www.albanyroots.com/home

06/24/2025

We are blown away by the amount of love and support for the Rigney we have seen from everyone in the first week of fundraising! Three weeks to go! Keep sharing your memories with us. We love hearing how the Rigney shaped your youth and what it meant to you!

If you do feel inclined to give to our matching grant challenge, donations may be dropped off at City Hall. Checks can be made to the Albany Legacy Fund/Rigney. Online donations and additional information can be found at https://www.therigney.org/Match. Thank you again for your support!

06/17/2025

We approve of your message, Dan! And we are continually grateful that you allow us to use your beautiful photos in support of the community.

Help Restore the Rigney Theater in Albany, Missouri

For years, Missouri Skies has operated without asking for financial support in any way and will continue to do so. Today, however, I'm asking my Facebook followers to consider contributing to a cause very dear to me: the restoration of the historic Rigney Theater in downtown Albany, Missouri.

This once-vibrant hometown theater boasts a unique architectural style for this area and was once the center of entertainment for this small town in Northwest Missouri. Unfortunately, it has fallen into disrepair after being closed for many decades. The rise of modern movie streaming, coupled with high operating costs and dwindling attendance at such small theaters, made keeping it open financially unfeasible long ago. We must act now to ensure the Rigney doesn't become another forgotten relic, sort of like the theater referenced in the movie, "The Last Picture Show."

The Rigney holds a special place in my heart. It was there that I first experienced the magic of cinema, watching films like 2010: The Odyssey Continues, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, E.T., Star Wars, and countless other memorable sci-fi and thriller movies that profoundly shaped my imagination. I was so captivated by Close Encounters that I saw it three nights in a row! The aroma of popcorn remains vivid in my memory, and the Pepsi clock beside the screen is forever etched in my mind as a marker of when the movie would start and when my parents would arrive to take me home. I also fondly remember the free Christmas matinees and taking students there to see a special holiday movie before winter break.

I am personally contributing to this important project, and I sincerely hope you will consider doing the same. My wish is to one day photograph the Rigney again with its lights shining brightly and filled with enthusiastic patrons, whatever its future use may be. As one of Albany's genuine historic landmarks, I have often photographed it, including the image shared here during the blizzard of 2009. Please don't let this piece of our history disappear.

To learn more about the project and how you can donate, please visit the link below. The website provides comprehensive details about this vital restoration effort.

therigney.org

PS: The above unsolicited thoughts are my own and do not necessarily represent those of the Albany Community Development Corporation.

PSS: "The Last Picture Show", movie referenced above, is a great black & white movie, but is Rated R and should not be seen by kids. I can't stress this enough.

06/17/2025

Many thanks to the community members who came out to the meeting tonight! We are excited to announce that the Albany Legacy Fund has been selected for a $50,000 matching grant challenge from a private foundation. We have 30 days (starting today!) to raise $50,000, and every dollar will be matched. All funds raised will go to the Rigney for the next phase of restoration. We will be sharing more information as we make our way to July 15. But tonight we wanted to share this video and hope it gives you all the feels like it did for us!

If you are ready to support us now, checks can be made payable to the Albany Legacy Fund/Rigney and delivered or mailed to Albany City Hall at 106 E Clay, Albany, MO 64402. More information can be found at https://www.therigney.org/Match. Thank you for your support!

• www.therigney.com

MATCHING GRANT CHALLENGE: The Rigney has qualified for a $50,000 matching grant challenge! Any funds raised between June 16-July 15, 2025 will be matched dol...

06/16/2025

We hope you can join us for our community meeting tonight!

The Albany Community Development Corporation will be holding a community meeting on Monday, June 16 at 6 pm at the Hundley-Whaley Extension & Education Center located at 1109 S Birch. We have an exciting announcement that will help direct the future of the Rigney and will need the community's help in meeting our goal.

• www.therigney.org

06/12/2025

The Albany Community Development Corporation will be holding a community meeting on Monday, June 16 at 6 pm at the Hundley-Whaley Extension & Education Center located at 1109 S Birch. We have an exciting announcement that will help direct the future of the Rigney and will need the community's help in meeting our goal. Hope to see you there!

• www.therigney.org