The Palace Theatre was a historic

movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...

in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties, it originally housed stage acts before conversion into a movie theater. Named a historic site because of its architecture, it was demolished in the early 1980s following years of financial failures.

Architecture

Built in the Italianate style, the Palace was a five- story stone building topped with a

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

at the center of a bracketed

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The facade was divided into five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

: on the first two stories, the middle bay comprised a wide arch around the main entrance and marquee, and the other bays included one large window each, while stories three through five comprised all smaller windows, with four in the middle and two in each of the others. Inside, the building was carefully constructed to minimize structural interference and to maximize visibility: although the theater was built to hold an audience of 2,600, none of the seats came near to being placed behind structural members. Instead, the ceiling was supported by a set of arches and vaults, covered with elaborate plaster details; the result was an exceptionally high-quality acoustic structure, important in the days of vaudeville. The red carpet was laid out permanently in the foyer, and space was provided in the main part of the theater for an orchestra that was available to play for ever performance. In 1930, the theater demonstrated its technological sophistication by installing air conditioning.

History

George Rapp John George Rapp (german: Johann Georg Rapp; November 1, 1757 in Iptingen, Duchy of Württemberg – August 7, 1847 in Economy, Pennsylvania) was the founder of the religious sect called Harmonists, Harmonites, Rappites, or the Harmony Society. ...

of Chicago, the Palace was the last theater built in Cincinnati before movies gained the prominence that they now enjoy. Built by the Ohio Construction Company at a cost of half a million dollars, the theater originally showed primarily vaudeville acts, but by the time

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

purchased it in 1930, it had been renovated to facilitate the showing of movies. Nevertheless, its stage remained useful; among the many performers who appeared live on its stage during the RKO era were

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, and Burns and Allen.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 645. During its heyday, the theater would feature one act after another throughout the day, going from noon until almost midnight.Singer, Allen J. ''Stepping Out in Cincinnati: Queen City Entertainment 1900-1960''.

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

: Arcadia, 2005. Into the 1970s, it was still featuring both movies and live performances;"Palace Theater Having Troubles In Cincinnati", '' The Blade'' 1978-12-21: 32. although a group of investors spent more than $1 million to renovate it in 1978 and 1979, attendance continued to drop, and the doors were permanently closed by 1980. The building was demolished in 1982, and a new skyscraper, the Cincinnati Commerce Center, was erected in its place in 1984. Since the destruction of the Palace Theater, Cincinnati has been without a downtown movie palace; comparable buildings survive in nearby cities such as

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

(

Ohio Theatre Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

) and

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

( Indiana Theatre), serving as the homes of their symphony orchestras,The Palace Theater (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Cornell University Libraries, n.d. Accessed 2013-12-15. unlike Cincinnati, whose orchestra plays at

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

in Over-the-Rhine.History of Over-the-Rhine
,

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

, 2006. Accessed 2013-12-16. In 1980, the Palace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying because of its place in local history, but the designation was unable to prevent its replacement with a skyscraper. Even though the theater has been gone for more than thirty years, it officially remains on the Register.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Theatres completed in 1918 Buildings and structures demolished in 1982 Cinemas and movie theaters in Ohio Demolished buildings and structures in Ohio Demolished theatres in the United States Former cinemas in the United States Italianate architecture in Ohio Movie palaces National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati Theatres in Cincinnati Vaudeville theaters Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio