Palms Theater

East Main Street,
New Port Richey, FL

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jeff560
jeff560 on April 5, 2005 at 2:58 am

I do not know whether the Palms Theater was an open air theater, but apparently the fire was started by a boy playing with matches. An older resident of New Port Richey told me recently that he was “certain” that a friend of his (whom he named) was playing with matches on a Sunday morning and inadvertently caused the fire. (A check of a calendar confirms that Jan. 30, 1938, was a Sunday.)

teecee
teecee on February 24, 2005 at 7:23 pm

Good catch. The picture of the Palms appears to demonstrate a bungelow style architecture with the lattice work. It is no wonder that the flames were so huge on the subsequent fire.

A bit of curiosity: The Meighan /Richey reopened on 1/28/38 after a 4 year dormancy. The Palms burned down on 1/30/38. Coincidence?
Remember that the former manager of the Meighan ran (or at least planned to run) the Palms.

teecee
teecee on February 24, 2005 at 4:40 am

Thanks for the “before” pictures. Now for the “after” pictures, after the fire:

http://www.fivay.org/images/ghs2183.jpg
http://www.fivay.org/images/ghs2184.jpg
http://www.fivay.org/images/ghs2185.jpg
http://www.fivay.org/images/ghs2197.jpg