Palace Theater

The Waterbury Palace theater is not open. it has been closed for years, but is not beginning to undergo renovations.

Er that should be is NOW beginning to undergo renovations.

This is NOT an atmospheric theatre.

Designed by Thomas Lamb, it is similar in decor to Loew's State, New York City, and Loew's Metropolitan in downtown Brooklyn.

Restoration of the Palace is well underway. Conrad Schmitt Studios, Inc. has completed extensive restoration of the decorative finishes, including ornamental plaster and scagliola, decorative painting, millwork, metal work and terrazzo flooring. Other work continues, with the grand re-opening planned for Fall 2004.

The Address for the Waterbury Palace Theatre is 1100 East Main Street, Waterbury, Ct.

Does anyone know the name of the current architect in charge of the renovation?

This was known as Loew's Poli until 1934, when S.Z. Poli sold his circuit to Loew's and the theatre was re-named Loew's Palace. It was never the largest theatre of its type in New England. #1 was the 4,407-seat Metropolitan in Boston (now a performing arts center). #2 was the 3,880-seat State in Hartford (now demolished). #3 was the 3,642-seat Loew's Poli in Bridgeport (also designed by Lamb and built at the same time as the Loew's Poli in Waterbury, and also still standing). #4 was the 3,448-seat Loew's State in Boston (now demolished). The Waterbury Loew's Poli was #5, with 3,419 seats.

That capacity for the (Loews Poli) Palace Theatre in Bridgeport is wrong. It was much closer to 3000 than 2500, and the Waterbury Palace was bigger, by a few hundred seats, than the Bridgeport one.

er than should read much closer to 3000 than 3600

I cited statistics from a list entitled "Motion Picture & Vaudeville Theatres Of The USA With Over 2,800 Seating Capacity," published in Volume 23, #3, of MARQUEE, the Journal of the Theatre Historical Society of America. The Loew's Poli in Bridgeport is listed as #28, the Loew's Poli in Waterbury as #49. Unfortunately, it's often hard to find agreement on seating capacities. Sometimes they were reported incorrectly when the theatres first opened. Sometimes they were later reduced but not reported. Having been in both the Bridgeport and Waterbury theatres, I would guess that the seating capacities were about equal, since they had the same architect, Thomas Lamb, were built at the same time, and were similar in size and style.

The Waterbury Poli Palace was built by Sylvester Z. Poli designed by Thomas Lamb. Owned and operated S.Z.Poli the Theater seating was 3600 and opened January 28 1922. The Bridgeport Poli Palace designed by Thomas Lamb was owned and built by S.Z.Poli. The seating capacity was also 3600,the grand opening was September 4 1922.posted by W.Poli Sheahan Mar17,2004

Having worked for the Palace, oh so many years ago in so many different capacities, it does my heart good to see that the grand old lady will once again shine in all her splendor. i know every inch of that theater and know what she looked like in her prime. i look forward to once again walking up the grand staircase. i plan on volunteering some of my time for the cause, if they would let me.

louis belloisy, formerly of Waterbury, Conn.

The address for this theatre is wrong. It is at 100 East Main St. I was in there in Summer 2002 after renovations began, but have not been in recently now that they are nearly finished I can't wait until the grand reopening this fall!

Sorry I hit an extra one in the address, to be exact though the city directory lists the true address as 84-110 East Main Street.

A couple of fantastic photos of the interior of the Palace can be found at this link:
http://www.barlowandassociates.com/WATERBURY%20CT.htm

84-110 is the span of the block that runs alongside the Palace. It will contain restaurants, retail shops and offices. The theatre itself, though, is at 100 East Main.

There is also a slideshow of a few renovation photos of the Palace on the NVDC's site at http://www.nvdc.org/nvdc/pages/slideshowproject.jsp?id=258 - one of them contains our soon-to-be-impeached governor!

This should be listed as the Palace Theater. Its official website is http://palacetheaterct.org/

I saw a photo online of the front of a bygone restaurant 2 doors before this theater. In the photo, the theater's marquee reads- Loew's Poli. The film running then was Dragon Seed with Kate Hepburn which came out in 1944.

When my father, Ed Parks (who later became an animator for Disney, Paramount, and Hanna-Barbera) was a child in the late Twenties and Early Thirties, he lived in Waterbury. At that time, there were at least seven theatres along that stretch of East Main Street. Some of the other theatres were: State, Rialto (where he went to see Tom Mix movies on Saturday mornings),Strand, Garden, and Bijou. He always referred to the theatre here discussed as "Poli's Palace," though the posessive form of Poli doesn't seem to have been used on signage. Dad's best friend, Bussy Beith, had asthma, and Bussy's father only wanted his son to go to Poli's because he felt it had the best air!
Dad used to tell me that the box office had a large clock on it, which was handy for planning when to get in line for the show. I later saw a photo which proved this.
Other memories of his:
He was afraid to sit under the crystal chandelier which hung under the balcony from the Mezzanine ceiling and through the oval-shaped promenade, thinking it might fall.
He said that he used to look at the impressively huge organ pipes. I wondered about this, since theatre organ pipes were typically concealed, but when visiting the Palace in 1990 with the Theatre Historical Sciety Conclave, sure enough, I saw that the chambers were fronted by towering display pipes, just for show!
Dad remembered sitting in one of the Main Floor box seats right by the orchesra pit with my Grandmother and several family friends. The kettle drums were right by them, and as the movie that night was the war picture (silent) "What Price Glory," those drums were used a lot, and really thundered in that auditorium. Also, Dad remembered one member of the orchestra using a narrow washboard-like device which, when some sort of bar or rod was pulled through it, imitated machine gun fire!
Dad also remembered some of the vaudeville acts which appeared there. The one he told me of which I remember was a trained dog act in which a group of little dogs in overalls and caps, with tools, set about to build a miniature house onstage! This delighted Dad no end, and eventually when the dog act returned to Waterbury, he went to see them again! He used to say, "It was the cutest thing!"
Dad also remarked that the fire curtain was a beautifully painted scenic one which had advertising space on it, and sometimes commedian acts would refer to local businesses whose names were on the curtain as part of their act as they stood in front of it.
Dad said that at the time (though the theatre was quite new) he just figured it had "been there forever." He said it was always kept spotless, but he assumed because of its ornate style that it must have been old.
Many years later, Dad got to see the theatre, from the outside at least, when we were taking a family car trip all around the US in 1981. The rectangular neon Loew's style marquee was still on the facade then, though the Loew's name was gone. Dad was sad that the original marquee and vertical sign were gone, though there was a small vertical which read, "Palace."
I got to photograph the theatre on 1990 during the THS Conclave, and when Dad saw the pictures of the interior he really enjoyed them.

For any Waterbury-ites reading this, Dad lived on the hillside above Downtown (within walking distance). He lived on Wyman Street, two houses up from what he called The Big House, a Victorian mansion owned by the Stanley family, who owned many of the rental houses on that block. There were no houses across the street, just a rock retaining wall and a steep embankment, with the rears of the next street's houses backing up to it. Also, he went to Drigg's Grammar School.

I have recently confirmed my Dad's use of the posessive "Poli's Palace" rather than "Poli Palace" by the discovery of a 1920s postcard which was on ebay recently which showed a vertical sign on the theatre which used the posessive form. I didn't bid on it, and don't know who won it. The sign was definitely before the Loew's acquisition, and likely the theatre's original sign.

Re: the 84-110 address. I was born and grew up in Waterbury and remember the theater well. The building took up most of the block it is in and housed, even in the 1940s many stores, including the old Record Shop. There was a shoe shine parlor near the theater entrance, a newspaper and candy store, where we would buy candy before going into the theater. In those days, there was little, or no food available inside the theaters. As I remember it the theater had lights for the aisles, and there were a deep amber color, and had other lights which were designed, obviously, by the same person who designed the chandilier and the lighted concave area that it hung from. She was a grand old lady and I remember going to the vaudeville shows there, they were my first live stage shows, and the Plaza that was us the street on the same side was where I first saw a stage play, "Arsenic and Old Lace." Can't remember the year, but there was an accident outside of town, where a vehicle ran into the back of a hay wagon with many high school kids on a hayride. Thanks for the memories. Ed Duff (Kissimmee, FL)

In 1994, my father, Paul DeCrisanti and Bill Wildman, Jr. were the Vice President and President of a non-profit organization: the Palace Theater Foundation. We held an event called the "Arms Around the Palace" in which we opened up the Palace Theater to rally support for the Palace Theater's proposed renovations.
Ten years ago, I was only 9, yet I had a large part in this group, making signs, flyers and anything else a child could manage to do, including painting both the outside of the palace and the marquee (which has remained as we painted it until just this last week), as well as cleaning the inside of the palace and toting my father's massive video camera around on the day of the event to capture as much of the Palace Theater as possible.
This was the only time I've seen the Palace Theater open in my life and I'm overjoyed by the upcoming re-opening. I have recently been inside the Palace with my father and she is as beautiful as ever, even if we were able to pick out many changes from the many, many days we had spent in there a decade ago.
Every member on the Palace Foundation team was deeply in love with the beauty, grandeur and inherent serenity of the Palace Theater and were sorely disappointed when our organization was deemed too attached and inevitably lost the bidding war to restore her. Luckily, the renovators have maintained the classic beauty of the palace while making their changes.

Waterbury is heading in the right track with the re-opening of the Palace Theather. The Palace Theather is a historic place with alot of memories inside of it. Downtown Waterbury is in the right direction one thing Waterbury needs is to construct some high rise Office buildings that will attract companies to there ITZ zone pretty much like Downtown Stamford. I would like to see Waterbury again with the life it had before in the 1940's packed with people and all the lighting around the Downtown area it will be a good thing to see that back in this beautiful historic City.

Palace Reopened last week after 18 years with Tony Bennett opening it he was also the last performer there when it closed. Waterbury spent 30 million on the restoration.

Say goodbye to Broadway, save your self a two hour trip, traffic and parking headaches, go to the Palace Theater, you'll be glad you did. Born and raised in New York City, attended On and Off Broadway theaters until moving to CT in 1985. I heard about the "old" Palace from Waterbury born co-workers and last night for the first time, I entered the Palace doors with my wife to see Lord of The Dance. To everyone who had anything to do with the Palace Restoration project, my hat is off to you ! You have restored a Crown Jewel ! The moment you walk through the doors it is awe inspiring, the marble, the chandeliers, the grandeur of the 1920s hits you unlike any theater I
have ever seen in New York City. Seeing Riverdance perform so close to our home in Prospect, is spectacular to say the least. It is such
a pleasure to see the old craftsmanship of turn of the century
artisans, restored instead of demolished. The State of Connecticut
and the City of Waterbury have made a wise investment with the $30
million dollars spent on this project. I think anyone who has been
there to see these opening shows will agree....... it's time to say
Goodbye to Broadway, say hello to Waterbury and save money while you're at it !

Thank you Palace,thank you Riverdance, thank you for a wonderful
evening. We'll be back !

We are trying to learn the name of the contrators or builders of the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. We know that it was owned by S. Poli and the architect was Thomas Lam when it originally opened in 1922. However, does anyone know who the actual builders were???
I attended the November 12, 2004 Re-opening Gala. It is so wonderful to have the Palace opened again. The restoration is absolutely beautiful and Tony Bennett was great.

I feel very sad that with all the accolades that people write about the Palace that no one mentions Domenic Temporale, who owned the theater for 30 years and attempted to refurbish several times after dashed promises from the state and the ungrateful attitude of the City of Waterbury. I remember a conversation I had with Domnic right after he bought the theater in 1971. He was offered $1 million the same year he bought it and the purchaser wouldtear it down and build something else. But he lovedthat theater and loved Waterbury. I also remember a conversation I had with him about the same time when people wanted to buy the chandeliers and destroy the theater by buying bits and pieces of it. But he refused to sell it in pieces and wanted to restore it. The performing arts center was his idea. He was a lifelong Waterbury resident who died earlier this year. And no one pays tribute to him or gives him credit for his contribution to saving the Palace. What a shame.

I too remember Mr. Temporale and I remember his efforts to make a civic center out of it. I believe it would have been a wonderful addition to the Waterbury community. His plans called for its being used by local schools, arts groups, such as music, theater and dance. In fact, I remember that the Waterbury Oratorio Society was considering starting an opera group to perform Operas locally. I didn't realize Mr Temporale died this past year, although I moved away over ten years ago and have not stayed totally up on the news up north, since I now live in Florida. We have very few grand old theaters like up north, although there are a few. Too many of these fine old edifices have been torn down all over the country. When I visited Key West this past spring I saw a beautiful old theater being made into a drug store. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.

If you go to www.cinematours.com you can read additional information on the Palace Theatre in Waterbury CT and others. KenRoe told me about this site.

Sorry, but the other cinema website is www.cinematour.com

The newly-restored Palace is STUNNING! Wow!!

I too, remeber Domenic Temporale, who was our host when the Theatre Historical Society visited the Palace during our 1990 Conclave. He was very hospitable.

I am new to this site - very interested in the history of the Palace - thank you all for the info and links - went to the Palace for 2 shows so far - absolutely wonderful - we need to spread the word to all to keep it alive!

I hope that plans are made to have a brass plaque made in memory of this Mr. Temporale as he should be honored for saving the theatre when others wanted it torn down!

edwardduff77: In need, you did see a theatre in Key West on Duval that is now a Walgreens. Such a shame in such an historically minded city! :-(

The former Strand in Key West is listed under FLORIDA with photos if you dare to look.

And does anyone know who owns the Palace Theatre?

The real address for the Palace Theater is 100 East Main Street, Waterbury CT 06702. As far as I understand it, the city of Waterbury now owns the Palace. I give many thanks to Mr. Temporale for seeing the potential for the old girl, and coaxing international acts to come and play (Frank Zappa, Yes, Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, Pink Floyd, amongst SO many others). Let's not also forget a more recent dedication to it's salvation: John Rowland...although I'm sure many have allowed scandal to overshadow the good.
Anyhow, free tours are available on Thursdays, which have to be scheduled in advance by calling 203-755-8483 x 132. Tickets can be obtained at the box office 203-755-4700, following the prompts for ticket sales.

I saw Bill Cosby there on Sunday night and will be seeing the Doobies and Huey Lewis there later this summer. I had tears welling up in my eyes when i saw the ceiling. I had box/proscenium seats. when you walk in, above the door are strips of mirrors so it looks bigger. The lobby is beautiful as are the bathrooms. The stage is 5,000 sq ft and they have a rising pit for the orchestra. great sound. the ceiling is just amazing. Worth the trip even for the architecture.

Jaedenct,
Thanks for the info on the free tours! It's been a long, long time since I've been there and since I'm out of town now, I'd love a tour. Hoping to see a show too, before long.

It was a pleasure to work on the renovation of the Palace. Stage Decoration & Supplies manufactured the decorative and stage curtains. I have included one of the photos on our website at www.stagedec.com and would welcome photos from others who would be willing to share them. Thank you.

Does anyone know any good stories about the Palace Theatre? Has there been any huge event there? Any stories about the Palace being haunted? I'm currently writing a screenplay that has the Palace as its setting, and I would like to know about any interesting story regarding the theatre.

Thank you

Where can I find information on Sylvester Z. Poli's life and history?
I've done some research on the net, but what I found was very little.

Thank you

According to a November 2004 article in the Waterbury Republican newspaper, when the Lowe's Poli Theater, later the Palace Theater, opened Jan. 28, 1922, a song was written just for the occasion. Initially known as S.Z. Poli's "Million-Dollar Theater" the Palace was the city's largest with 3,419 seats. It now has 2,640. In its history it has hosted everything, from opera to Frank Zappa. Many believed the Palace had the best acoustics in the state.

It does have the best acoustics in the state from the soundmen i talk to who run the soundboards at shows. It was also the flagship Palace of the country and the largest in CT. I saw Huey Lewis and the News there last nite, my third show there this summer. It really grows on you. Even if you've seen every square inch and don't think you need to look like a "tourist" when you go in, you still ogle like crazy.

What is meant by "the flagship Palace of the country?" No Palace in the USA ever held higher rank than the one at Broadway & 47th Street in New York City.

Joe Mulhall, now known as Ken Griffin, was a teen-aged disk jockey on WWCO, WATR, and WBRY in Waterbury in the 1950s. He recalled the last days of vaudeville and live performances at the Loew’s Poli Palace in the early 1950s in his 2002 autobiography “A Great Face For Radio”:

“Downtown Waterbury had the Loew’s Poli Palace Theater which ran live stage shows on weekends following the movies. Eight Acts Daily: usually a musician, juggler, ventriloquist, comedian, singer, tap dancer, animal act, and magician. Sometimes even a band, like Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights. He actually had his own TV show, so I had to get his autograph at the stage entrance. After that it became an obsession.”

I think I read it being the flagship in the Cinema Treasures book?

Is the marquee really plastic? I saw a photo, and it looked really cheesy

Oh yes, the marquee is plastic -- a piece of tattered plastic that still reads "Entertaining New Possibilities 2004-2005". They are well into their second season, and still missing one of the most important features of a theater of this type: a bright, flashing marquee that announces the shows, and draws the eye to the building itself -- calls out to patrons. It seems that the Warner in Torrington got this right, and should offer some council to the inept Mr. Frank Tavera, who is running that place like it's a community teen theater.

Strange. The simple marquee pictured on this page looks much better than that fast-food style thing on other cinema websites.

If you could see it in person --- it's dented, mangled (truck box tops backing into it, etc), and fading.

I am told the new marquee will be up by early summer. I am the house photographer for the Palace and i also do the tours. the palace was my first job when i was a mere child. my knowledge of the theater has not dimmed over the years. i highly recommend the tours. if you are interested, contact the office.

also i invite you to view some of the photos of the Palace:

http://www.imagesct.com/palace/index.htm

lou

The Palace Theater is Magnificent!! Every one should come out & support this crown jewel.

Photos of the renovated Palace Theater as magnificent (imho) as the theater itself: http://www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery2/album208

The marquee structure has undergone a stress test where they placed 20,000 pounds of water on it for 24 hours, it passed and the next step is the actual maquee itself. i understand its being built in bridgeport, conn and will be installed by september 15th. i will provide a link to some of the photos i took of the process.

louis belloisy, Palace Photographer

If anyone saw rock concerts here in 1974 and 1977 you may have information I am seeking. Mainly opening acts and things like that. Please contact me at mute.moony@gmail.com with anything you remember or have proof of!

Waterbury’s rehabilitated Palace Theater will trade its unpretentious, one-dimensional, tin sign for a high - tech, glowing marquee in November. The new sign will offer performers that oft-sung-about indicator of legitimacy: the chance to see their names in lights.

In addition to nearly 1,000 pounds of steel, aluminum and metal composite, plans call for the marquee to be book ended by two light emitting diode, or LED, screens. All lighting on the sign incorporates LED technology, which is more energy efficient than traditional light bulbs, said Jim McMahon, of the marquee's maker, ABC Sign Corp. of Bridgeport. Theater leaders who selected the new sign likened its sides to the famous Times Square screen near the Cup O' Noodles in Manhattan, albeit differently proportioned.

It will be unveiled Nov. 10 at a 6:30 p.m. ceremony. The current sign -- initially sufficient yet simple, but now a bent and scratched sheath -- was never intended to stay. Initially, plans called for the theater's old marquee to be restored. But theater officials later asked that the marquee be modified to include some of the high-tech elements more commonly found on modern performing arts venues. The roughly $320,000 cost of the sign is covered by the state grant money that paid for the rehabilitation.

To inaugurate the new technology, theater officials have launched a contest asking people to submit stories of life events that occurred at the Palace, be they marriage proposals or first dates. The top five selected will be broadcast at the unveiling. Explain briefly, in 100 words or less, the memorable moment, and send entries to Sheree Marcucci via e-mail at marcuccipalacetheaterct.org or by U.S mail to 100 East Main Street, Waterbury, 06702. Deadline is Oct. 6.

Walking down a set of marble steps in the refurbished Palace Theater two weeks ago, 71-year-old Ada Solomiti recalled how she used to dress up to attend events at the East Main Street institution. "You wouldn't dream of wearing slacks," the Waterbury resident said. "You wore a dress and spike [heels]." Solomiti has traded her spikes in for more practical shoes, but she fondly remembers the times she spent nestled in the velvet seats. In fact, she was there that day to record one particular memory: watching "The African Queen" with her good friend and erupting into giggles. "We got a lot of dirty looks," she said to the Waterbury Arts Magnet School students wielding the camera.

Solomiti's memory was one of 12 chosen from the Palace's Marquee Moments contest. The theater, in honor of its new digital marquee and the third anniversary of its reopening after a major renovation, asked community members to share their memories of the theater. Thirty-five people responded, and 12 were chosen to be filmed. The WAMS students will edit the clips down to a 5-to-7-minute film that will be shown the night of the marquee unveiling. "It's been pretty cool," said Rebecca Bradshaw, a WAMS senior and Southbury resident. "It will be a lot of editing, but we'll be proud of what we do."

Cathy C. Christiano of Thomaston came to the filming clutching a folder filled with black-and-white pictures, including autographed glossies of big-band leader Tommy Dorsey and actor Rory Calhoun. Christiano, 75, got a job as an usherette at the Palace when she was 17. For the showing of "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1950, she dressed up as Annie Oakley and toured downtown Waterbury on a float. Christiano worked at the Palace for 2½ years and went on to have nine children. Her hair is now white, but her vibrant blue eyes teared up when she remembered that her son, Paul, who died recently in a car accident, was on the restoration committee for the Palace. "He would have been overjoyed to see the new marquee," she said.

Louis Belloisy, a Morris resident, also got his start at the Palace as an usher. "It was my first job when I was 16," Belloisy said. "And at that time, it was a great honor." Belloisy also worked at the Palace as a doorman and ticket taker. After he retired from his career as a corporate pilot, he returned to the Palace. He now is the theater's official photographer. "I almost cried the first time I walked in here," he said. "The restoration is even better than I remembered it."

Joanne Hasemann shared her memories of Mr. Peanut. Planter's Peanuts had a store next door to the theater and one of the workers would dress up in a nine-foot peanut costume. "He would stand out there," Hasemann, a 70-year-old Waterbury resident said, motioning toward the lobby doors, "and say, 'get your fresh roasted peanuts.' We'd be a little scared of him, but we'd always get a bag of peanuts and go back in to see a movie." About five years ago, Hasemann said she uncovered the identity of the boy inside the costume, but she won't divulge his name. She'd rather talk about how excited she is return to the Palace. "That marquee made this street," she said. "It was the brightest, most beautiful thing. I can't wait to see the new one."

She remembers hopping on the bus -- fare was 15 cents -- from her family's restaurant in Watertown and catching a movie at the Palace. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" was her favorite. Now she's hoping to see "Cats" when it comes to town next year. Hasemann noticed that there is less velvet in the theater now than there used to be, but she's still happy to be back. "It will always be the grand lady of East Main Street," she said.

Good news everyone. I think someone posted this, oh well. The marquee is back on and it looks pretty good. Read the calendar in today's Hartford Courant, they have a picture of The Palace with the new marquee.

This is the online version of the Courant story about the marquee mentioned by Spike in the above comment. Photo is not included.

The marquee looks great! Exciting weekend for Waterbury - saw PP&M last night - wonderful show, sold all but 10 seats acccording to one of the ushers. Looking forward to Aretha tonight!

I have an up to date marquee photo, how do i get it posted here.

lou belloisy

Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1983

Palace Theater ** (added 1983 - Building - #83001284)
86-110 E. Main St., Waterbury
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Lamb,Thomas W.
Architectural Style: Other, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Domestic, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Hotel, Theater

The Palace was mentioned in an April 5, 2007, News-Times editorial on the new owner of the Bank Street Theatre in New Milford.

Good move
Danbury should follow New Milford's lead in saving downtown theater
Apr 05 2007

We have to agree with Richard Freedman. He thinks New Milford is lucky to have found Gary Goldring, the entrepreneur from Sherman who bought the Bank Street Theater in downtown New Milford, and so do we.

The old theater with the distinctive Art Deco exterior is a downtown landmark.

Freedman certainly has an informed opinion as he is the one who sold the gem to Goldring. The price tag was $1 million, the same amount paid by Freedman two years ago, even though he invested more with lobby renovations and new seats. Whether it is generosity or market reality, we are glad to see the building sold at that price instead of languishing for years.

Mayor Patricia Murphy rolled up her sleeves and, as she said, "went chasing" the buyer, who had earlier indicated interest in doing business in New Milford. This is one more piece of evidence that she has made economic development a priority.

Granted, a movie theater does not have the tax impact that would come with some larger potential projects, but it has considerable cultural impact.

In the early days of moving pictures, nearly every thriving downtown had its own theater and many even had competing theaters. Some were converted from vaudeville stages and most had elaborate decorations that are nearly cost prohibitive to duplicate now.

Cities that have restored their wonderful old theaters -- the Shubert in New Haven and the Palace in Waterbury come to mind -- have not only preserved a bit of history, but also have attracted complementary growth with restaurants and shops.

When will it be Danbury's turn? The city's old theater, also privately owned like New Milford's, has sat sadly empty for years, right on Main Street.

New Milford has shown that with ingenuity deals can happen. Let's take a step in Danbury and get talking about how the Hat City's own piece of history can be saved.

There are 2 great full shots of the Palace in this week's Play, the entertainment weekly for the New Haven area (4/18/07). The articles are online, but not the pics. Page 13 shows a great shot from the balcony of the grand ceiling, the stage, proscenium and the walls. Page 15 shows the outside marquee with the headline "A royal facelift for the Palace." The articles were about the magician David Martin and the author Candace Bushnell, of "Sex and the City".

Lou Belloisy: Adding your up to date marquee photo to your other gorgeous photos of the renovated Palace Theater at http://www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery2/album208 is the easiest way to get it on this site. Let us know when you do.

Hello Ex Waterbury person :)

The site at Shutterfreaks is closed for additional photos. You can see more of the Palace Theater on a new web site that I have built especially to show the beauty of the theater and of the performers that are now gracing the huge stage.

Please visit this site to see current performers, enjoy a virtual tour and see the construction photos of the new marquee.

see here..... www.palacewaterbury.com

lou belloisy

Thanks, Lou.

You can see a photo of the old Palace Theater marquee in the 1970s when Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review appeared there at www.freewebs.com/crosby-high-school-class-of-1975/ROLLING%20THUNDER%2040.jpg

Thanks Ex, thats a wonderful photo. i wish i could find more like it. I would like to get together a list of the performers that were at the Palace during the 70's and early 80's.

I had a chance to talk to ''Weird Al'' Yankovic at the Palace a few nights ago. He wanted to know if "The Who" performed at the theater. I could not answer. He was very interested in the past rock groups that were here. IF you know the names of the rock performers that were here, please list them.

thanks,

lou belloisy

Lou - The only rock performers/groups that I know for sure appeared at the Palace are:

Quicksilver Messenger Service (1972)

Pink Floyd (1973)

Genesis - The Lamb Descends on Waterbury (1974) http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/460700.jpg

Bob Dylan (1975) http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SwDoAvQWyYNSeMRv4*8L5cmX8OcQu6BfSQ1Gz7UV3v29wgkKFhdza2HrZqjsBqDBXMjguOH5isVbo!yYsdCyH8ZzjjwdHB8nE!3dKDIQI8I1uk*ZSXFZ3g/DylanPalace.jpg?dc=4675559611845707674

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention (1975)

Growing up in Waterbury,CT I frequented Lowe's Poli and then The Palace hundreds of times . I remember seeing many movies there as a kid,then some concerts there while attending Sacred Heart High,and then on college break from UCONN.
I saw James Taylor there in the early 70's,and i remember many rock concerts there,including Yes, Kansas, Boston...Kiss played there and legend has it they set fire to the stage drapes. Skynryd played there ,and the next day their tour bus rammed into a small drive-up bank near the Holiday Inn on Union St....Boston played there during their initial tour..I went to an Oldies show there in the mid 8o's featuring The Buckinghams,gary Lewis,rob grill( of the grass roots),and the Turtles( who headlined ).
I was at the tony Bennett show when the theater closed; i volunteered as an usher and briefly met Tony after the show.
Many great memories of movies and shows at this venue.
Mike S. Chesapeake,VA

This was mentioned in the New Haven Advocate's Annual Manual a few times.

"Waterbury is home to the Palace Theater...Queen first played "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Waterbury. The Palace hosted Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra, among other legends. The Palace was restored in 2004 to its historical beauty after a 16-year hiatus and is now in its fourth season.

It cost $1 million to build.

From the Waterbury Observer October 2007 - Phoenix Records in Litchfield and Waterbury will now serve as Palace Theater ticket outlets for select events.

The Palace also just received a $31,000 grant from the American Savings Bank Foundation to support the after-school arts and education program, Spotlight on Movement: Setting the Stage for Change. "It is a theater and academic program with integrated curriculum that incorporates elements of the Civil Rights Movement and current civil rights issues with the theatrical practices and applications of public speaking and the groundbreaking dance movement of the 1960s."

50 high school students from Danbury and Waterbury will participate in 5 workshops in dance, theater and academic subjects and 80 middle school students will participate in a 10-week program on popular dances of the 60s.

From a new publication called "Theatre CT" that I picked up at Bethel Cinema. It's mostly for acting but they mentioned that Seven Angels and the Palace, both in Waterbury will have plans to bring community theater in, a first for the Palace, in late 2007 or 2008.

In my ongoing search for information on the Palace theater, I came across a copy of the Waterbury Republican, dated January 28, 1922. On the front page and throughout the paper they talked about the Poli Palace that was to open that evening. I have copied the entire story and you can read it here. Note the different wording that they used so long ago.

Louis

http://www.palacewaterbury.com/newspaper%20article/article.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/crosby-high-school-class-of-1975/palacetheater.htm

Link to listing of many concerts performed at the Waterbury Palace Theater between 1971 and 1980.

Hello Snydek, thanks for the wonderful link to the 0ld bands that played the palace. with your permission, i would like to use the list of bands on our palace web site, with credit to you, of course.

great collection.

thank you

louis

Sure thing, Louis. Feel free to use any all the stuff on our website.

Sincerely,
SNYDEL

http://www.freewebs.com/crosby-high-school-class-of-1975/palacetheater.htm

That "Rock Fans Jam Theater to Cheer Grateful Dead" article was part of a montage in the GD DVD "View from the Vault" Volume 2, special features section video of "Liberty".

What a beautiful job in restoring the Palace theater.It was well worth it.

Saw a commercial on the news today that the Palace will be showing some classic christmas cult films these weekends with one being a double feature.

Yes we are showing a couple of films on Sunday the 14th of December. first is the classic "A Christmas Story" and the second will be "It's
A Wonderful Life".

shows start at 1 PM. we have a wonderful digital projection system and the show will be wonderful. Do bring the family and enjoy the films the way they used to be presented.

Louis

No offense to anyone, but I just looked up where Waterbury was in Connecticut and it's practically in the middle of nowhere! It truly is incredible that a theater of this size was built in this town. I wonder if this theater holds the record for the largest theater ever built relative to the size of the surrounding area. I don't know if anyone would know that kind of statistic.

Again, I don't mean to insult anyone, but this is a big theater! :-)

Second, in response to Greg Wright's earlier post from 2004 about "forgetting Broadway" now that the Palace has reopened, I just want to say that the enthusiasm for this theater is wonderful, but nothing will ever replace Broadway. On Broadway, you have a choice of what to see and a huge variety of spectacular theaters to see them in. You also see a Broadway caliber cast and not the "touring" companies which tend to be a lesser quality than the NY stage and of course, the bustle of the city and the incredible choice of dining options all add to the appeal. Yes, it is expensive. I do not deny it. But, it you can afford it, there is absolutely no substitution for the Broadway stage in New York!

I wish nothing but the best for the future of the Palace in Waterbury!

Hi Luis,

In defense of Waterbury, at one time, it was the brass center of the world. Waterbury was the hub of commerce and industry in Connecticut and possibly all of New England. Such famous companies such as Scoville, Chase, Brass and Copper, Anaconda Brass, Mattatuck manufacturing, were among the numerous manufacturing companies that worked non stop during WW I and II

Sylvester Zefferino Poli loved Waterbury, so much so, that at one time, in the early 1920’s he had not only the Poli Palace theater on East Main Street, but four other vaudeville/movie houses all within a radius of one half mile. S.Z.Poli was born in Lucca, Italy in December of 1858. He opened his first theater in Waterbury in late 1897, when he was 39 years old.

There is no other City, Town, Hamlet, Burg, Village that can lay claim to have had 5 robust theaters all operating at the same time and all owned by the Impresario, S.Z. Poli.

On East Main Street, was the Poli Palace, about 1000 feet diagonally across the street was his original theater, called just plain “Poli”, across the street to the other side was the Strand Theater, down the street about 1500 feet was the Plaza, aka, Garden, aka, Rialto.
Across the street and up a side street was the famous Burlesque house, called Jacques.

At the time he was building his masterpiece in Waterbury, he was building two other sister theaters, one in Boston, since torn down and one in Bridgeport. The Bridgeport theater still stands, a shell of its former grand self.

Louis

Wow Louis! Thanks so much for the history lesson. I love that kind of stuff. I would have to agre with you that I cannot imagine any other town in the country the size of Waterbury that would have supported this level of theater density. I still can't get over that one of the theaters was over 3,000 seats.

I didn't mean a slight to Waterbury when I said it was in the middle of "nowhere" but I simply meant that it was astounding to have that level of theater density and seating for a town that size. I did some separate research though and found that Waterbury was also a big town for Broadway productions before they came to New York as was New Haven.

Another power town of the past was Paterson, New Jersey, but that city has sunk to a depressing low. It's big Theater, The Fabian, is in ruins as is Poli's Majestic in Bridgeport, yet another faded industrial powerhouse city from the past.

Do you know if there is any hope at all for Bridgeport's theater?

Hello Luis, the three Poli theaters opened almost within months of each other. If my memory serves me, the Waterbury Poli had the biggest capacity, that of 3719 seats. The Boston and Bridgeport theaters were just a little less.

One of our stage hands was in the Bridgeport theater a few months ago and took many photos, which i have not seen yet. He claims that its a carbon copy of the Waterbury theater. Its in sad shape, it would take a big effort to restore it. In these time, I would venture to say, never.

Poli and his architect, Thomas Lamb had a cookie cutter design for his theaters. They are all similar in many ways. Our theater has a large Wagon Wheel chandelier in the balcony. Its not the original, since the original weighed 1800 pounds they could not safely put it back. Ours is a replica of the original and made out of fiberglass and weighs only about 130 pounds. Ours is one tier and the theater in Bridgeport has three tiers. I would love to see the inside of the theater.

Louis

Mr. Temporale has not been forgotten. A bronze plaque has been installed in the Grand Lobby in his honor. As you exit the lobby for the inner orchestra lobby, its located on the right hand wall. Its a large plaque, done in fine taste, as a tribute to a gentleman who had a dream for the Palace.

Louis

This is a 1970 photo of a Loew's Poli in Waterbury.

Here are two 1986 photos of the Palace:

Photo1

Photo2

Mentioned in a story about the Danbury Palace.