The Palace Theatre is a historic theater in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, Minnesota. Dating from 1916, it was renovated in 2016 to become a live music venue.

History

Called the New Palace upon opening on November 27, 1916, the theater was designed by Saint Paul architects

Buechner & Orth Buechner & Orth was a St. Paul, Minnesota-based architectural firm that designed buildings in Minnesota and surrounding states, including 13 courthouses in North Dakota. It was the subject of a 1979 historic resources study. (main body of document ...

in a Beaux-Arts style. It was built with the surrounding St. Francis Hotel, which also included shops, a ballroom, and the largest single-room billiard hall in the country. The basement was later home to the Granada Club, famous for its Spanish style and known as a

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

hangout. The theater originally seated 2,300 people on the main floor and one balcony, and was part of the Finkelstein & Ruben circuit – a large regional chain that developed several other theaters in downtown Saint Paul, including the Princess (1909–1931) and the Capitol (1920–1965), as well as the State Theatre in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. It made the transition from

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, and was considered one of the city's two finest movie palaces – the other being the Paramount located directly across the street. Over the years the Palace would be affiliated with different production companies, including the Orpheum,

RKO 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-Orpheu ...

, and

Ted Mann Ted Mann (April 16, 1916 – January 15, 2001) was an American businessman involved in the film industry and head of Mann Theatres. In 1973, he purchased the National General Theatre chain and changed the name of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, wh ...

. First-run

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s were shown from the 1920s until its closure in 1977 due to new competition from both multiplexes and television. In the following years the theater was used only for sporadic events, such as a few live broadcasts of '' A Prairie Home Companion'' while the nearby Fitzgerald Theater underwent renovations. While dozens of theaters were built in the early 20th century in downtown Saint Paul, the Palace and the Fitzgerald are the only two that have survived.

Renovation

The building was dark for three decades and on the verge of condemnation before the City of Saint Paul purchased it in 2015, embarking on a $15 million rehabilitation meant to prepare the venue for concerts. The scope of the project was not a full historical restoration; instead they stabilized the structure and preserved what remained, adding new plumbing and mechanical systems but leaving "rough edges" throughout. Seats on the main floor were removed to accommodate larger crowds in general admission and differentiate the Palace from other regional venues with similar capacities, including the Orpheum Theatre and

Northrop Auditorium Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium (commonly known as Northrop Auditorium or simply Northrop) is a performing arts venue at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is named in honor of Cyrus Northrop, the university's second presi ...

in Minneapolis. The balcony's 725 seats were refurbished. The Palace had a public unveiling on December 16, 2016, around the time of its 100th anniversary. Bookings will be handled by First Avenue of Minneapolis and JAM Productions of Chicago. The first show at the renovated theater was March 10, 2017 by Atmosphere, with

The Jayhawks The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential ...

and Phantogram also playing opening weekend.

References

External links

* {{coord, 44.947096, -93.096745, region:US-MN_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Music venues in Minnesota Theatres in Minnesota Culture of Saint Paul, Minnesota Buildings and structures in Saint Paul, Minnesota

History

Renovation

See also

References

External links