Palace Theatre
932 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64101
932 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64101
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Actually the Palace Theater was a nice performing arts theater with a large stage. My Aunt worked the Ticket office for many years until it closed. For the last 7 years, is mainly showed westerns and for a year was an Owl Movie theater meaning it was a 24 hour operation and that caused it to get a little seedy so that was short lived. Too bad it was not saved, since it could have been a nice live performance theater. Many People have forgotten KC’s Lyceum that was around the corner on 9th Street It butted up to the Palace South Side auditorium wall.
Grand opening ad posted
Standard Amusement and Dominick Donninci opened the Palace Theatre on February 13, 1913 with Rex Beach’s “The Vengeance of Durand.” The theatre was built in an existing retail structure. After a ten-year lease expired, Donninci signed on for another 30-year lease. The neighbor was a restaurant and a Hotel called the Palace Hotel and then the Waverly Hote.
Louis A. Donninci took over the theatre in 1939 running it to the end of lease on July 11, 1954. Ralph Joseph Heft took on the theatre on a new lease running the venue only until 1955 at which time it closed permanently. The building was set to be torn down in 1957 but stayed around perhaps too long with the city condemning it in 1964 as part of its urban renewal plan.
The Palace Theatre was listed at 932 Main Street in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory, but the house opened no later than 1909, as it was listed in that year’s city directory. The Palace was on the ground floor of the St. George Hotel, built in 1895.
Boxoffice of June 19, 1954, ran an item saying that Louis Donnici had sold the Palace Theatre, which had been acquired by his father, Dominick Donnici, “…nearly forty years ago from Richard & Flynn.”
The Palace Theater was open at late as 1944 according to the Chris Wilborn book: Where the Streetcar Stops. Movies were 15 cents.
I have an early hand-tinted postcard of this theatre. It is of Main Street South from 9th Street. Though not postmarked it seems to be from the early 1920’s judging from the cars & horse drawn carriage. The signs for the Palace stretch all the way down a long brick 6 story building. The upper windows are arched & there are several businesses (including a bowling alley, dentist & shoe store) across the street. When the add photo feature returns I would be glad to share this image. The signs are not too legible but the main theatre marquee looks like it says “Roerbach & Goettel”? Another looks like it says something about the “cleverest beast”.