Palace Theatre

KenRoe on October 21, 2005 at 9:03 am

The Palace Theatre was originally a Vaudeville house catering for a black audience. Listed in Film Daily Yearbook;1931-32 and 1940-1955 as a Negro theatre with a seating capacity given as 1,100.

Apparently in the 1930’s Gonzelle White’s band and Count Basie performed on stage here.

kencmcintyre on January 31, 2008 at 10:15 am

The first photo was taken in 1940. You can also see the New Daisy to the right. The second photo is circa 1960s:
http://tinyurl.com/3apy6u
http://tinyurl.com/3xjg32

kencmcintyre on January 31, 2008 at 10:32 am

I stand corrected.

lostmemory on November 20, 2008 at 8:53 pm

Thanks “misterboo” for the Life Magazine photo link.

Joe Vogel on December 3, 2009 at 3:27 am

The modern facade on the Palace in the 1950s photos was the work of local architect Robert Thomas Martin who designed the renovation of the house that took place in 1949. The third floor of the Palace building was removed as part of the project.

An interesting revelation in the July 9, 1949, Boxoffice item about the renovation was this:

“Midnight rambles were held on Thursday nights for whites at the Beale Street Palace for 21 years. Whites were seated in the balcony and Negro patrons downstairs. They were discontinued in 1941 because of the war, but will be resumed when the remodeling program is completed.”

I don’t know that the midnight rambles for whites ever were brought back after the renovation, as the African-American movie industry that made the films presented at such shows was already on its last legs in 1949.