Palace Theatre

JRHagan on July 27, 2021 at 10:29 pm

I am kind of shocked that there is no mention of Michael Jacksons “Thriller” in any of the comments or overview for the Palace. Especially since the video is over 35 years old now Close to 800 million views for “Thriller ” on YouTube alone could quite possibly make the PALACE the most famous theaters of all time

rivest266 on October 3, 2019 at 11:03 pm

Reopened as Palace on January 24th, 1947.

davidcoppock on January 20, 2018 at 4:39 pm

The Palace Theatre is seen in the Music video for “Havana” by Camila Cabello.

tovangar2 on September 26, 2015 at 7:36 am

It was while rushing to her 1913 engagement at the Palace (then Orpheum) that Sarah Bernhardt’s taxi driver got in the accident at Washington and Crenshaw which later caused Ms Bernhardt to lose her leg. Story here: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/23/local/la-me-1024-then-20101023

Related article here: http://www.factsandarts.com/current-affairs/the-curious-story-of-sarah-bernhardts-leg/

Alan Bell on November 20, 2014 at 5:38 pm

The following is an excerpt from an article in the June 27, 2011 issue of the Los Angeles Times:

“When the [Palace] theater opened, the upper "gallery” level was earmarked for non-white theatergoers. Reportedly designated “Negroes Only,” it featured bench seating, had separate restrooms and could be reached only through an outside entrance. Historians have noted that such an arrangement was unusual in a city that, in those days, was more tolerant than other places.

dickneeds111 on July 24, 2014 at 7:55 pm

By saying it is the oldest Orpheum Theatre in the country I question that because I don’t understand. The Orpheum theatre in Boston was built in 1852 making it older. It became the Loews Orpheum very early and it stayed that way until the 70’s when it ceased being a movie theatre and became a music hall and became the Aquarius for a few years and then returned to being the Orpheum. It is still the Orpheum and is still a Music Hall theatre and does show a music film occassionally.

Joe Vogel on April 25, 2014 at 5:32 am

Andrew, this house opened in 1911 as the Orpheum Theatre and kept that name until the new Orpheum opened at 842 Broadway in February, 1926. This house was then called the Broadway Palace Theatre for a few years before becoming simply the Palace Theatre. I suppose it’s possible that an organ was installed in early 1926. As the Orpheum it had been a two-a-day vaudeville house, and would not have needed an organ. I don’t think it showed movies with any regularity until after becoming the Broadway Palace.

HowardBHaas on September 8, 2012 at 6:56 pm

The essence of the news sited above is this excerpt:

For years, the status of four Broadway theaters owned by the Delijani family has been one of the biggest trouble points for the revitalization of Broadway. Although many have envisioned a revived Palace, State, Los Angeles and Tower theaters functioning as mini-epicenters of nightlife, the family has been slow to act, worried about the cost, loading issues and a perceived lack of parking.

Now, all that could change. If the new plan comes to fruition, the family could have a major role in really bringing back Broadway.

Next week, Shahram Delijani expects to file documents with the Department of City Planning for a proposal that would bring the turn-of-the-20th-century theaters back to life by transforming them into concert venues and delivering restaurants and bars. The plan involves securing a series of permits that would, in essence, consolidate all four venues into a single “theater complex,” even though they are on different blocks.

Alan Bell on July 17, 2012 at 4:18 am

The following appeared in the July 15, 2012 issue of the Los Angeles Times:

“With $1-million restoration, the show goes on at Palace Theatre”

The Palace Theatre is indeed a place fit for royalty. Massive murals lord over the auditorium. Cornucopia moldings hang over the exits. And frescos cover the theater’s domed ceiling, a homage to an era when going to a show was truly a glamorous affair.

“It’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?” David Linderman said as he sat in one of its plush seats. “It’s more of a palace than a theater.”

Linderman drove in from Moorpark with his wife for a public tour Saturday by the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, which surveyed every nook of the theater, which had its first performance on June 26, 1911. (It was known as the Orpheum then, a vaudeville stage, where Joseph Hart’s “The Little Stranger” and “Musikal Girls,” were among the acts in the first show.)

The owners of the Palace Theatre, a name it adopted not long after, completed a $1-million renovation last year to restore the luster lost to time and inattention. The Palace is one of four historic theaters on Broadway in downtown purchased by the late real estate magnate and philanthropist Ezat Delijani, whose family continues to maintain and restore them. The family also owns the Los Angeles, State and Tower theaters.

The Palace had faded to a dismal state, said Ed Kelsey, who led the renovation. Leaks in the roof let water trickle in, causing severe damage throughout the building. It had become so humid inside that the paint was peeling. And coats of paint, layers of flooring and new fixtures added over the years, until the theater was closed in 1999, had lacquered over the original craftsmanship.

To reveal what had once been there, the renovation became something like detective work.

Sometimes it required incredible precision: A team had to examine an old photo with a microscope to spot the pattern on the wallpaper so they could re-create it; for the carpet, one person had to scrub off years of wear and dirt until the design was evident. Untangling a skein of electrical wiring from 1911 was certainly a tedious chore.

At other times, they had to be blunt objects, breaking through walls and floors to find the treasure underneath. “Hit it with a hammer and see what’s inside,” Kelsey said. They discovered the original tiled entryway in the lobby and wood panels in the gentlemen’s lounge. A bannister of concrete had a brass handrail inside.

“What a job! What a job! Look at the detail work,” Carole Koenig, 60, said as she examined the molding. “The kind of quality craftsmanship, they don’t make anymore.”

On the tour, the guides showed how the building had evolved in its various iterations: It originally had box seats, but those disappeared with the introduction of talking movies. It had an organ, and then it didn’t. There had once been an orchestra chamber, but now it was gone. And the instrument room didn’t originally have a functioning toilet right by the door.

Other stops included a ladies' lounge with a window overlooking the entrance so that women could spot their dates, outdoor stairs to the upper-level galleries used at a time when the theater was segregated.

“They’re not dead,” Koenig said of the theaters. “They’re living pieces of architecture for people to continue using in new ways.”

Linderman, 54, loves the old theaters. He even sat through a Spanish-language church service once just to see the State Theatre, also on Broadway.

“It gives you a reason to come down, to see things other than closed buildings, wondering what it was,” Linderman said of the renovation of the Palace Theatre, which once hosted entertainers ranging from Fred Astaire to Houdini.

A year after reopening, many hope for more: The former shine has been largely restored, but it hasn’t come back to life. The Palace is still holding out for a revival.

William on March 20, 2011 at 12:49 pm

LawMann, “Earthquake” opened at the Chinese Theatre across the street and later moved over to the Paramount Theatre.

kencmcintyre on May 6, 2010 at 11:37 pm

Here is a view from December 1951, from USC:
http://tinyurl.com/28mavhm

kencmcintyre on April 14, 2010 at 2:42 am

Here is a nice photo of the marquee, fully operational, in November 2009:
http://tinyurl.com/y5f4mlb

kencmcintyre on March 21, 2010 at 2:49 am

Here is a photo taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/yfflcet