Palace Theatre

189 Main Street,
Brattleboro, VT 05301

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Latchis

Functions: Church

Previous Names: Auditorium Theatre, Festival Hall, Strand Theatre

Nearby Theaters

AUDITORIUM Theatre; Brattleboro, Vermont.

The Town Hall building was constructed in 1855. On the second floor there was a hall which had a stage. By 1896 it had been extended and renamed Opera House, it had 875-seats. By 1905 it had been renamed Auditorium Theatre with 819-seats. By 1906 it had been renamed Festival Theatre. It became the Strand Theatre by 1919 and was showing motion pictures. Following a remodel, on October 24, 1939 it reopened as the Palace Theatre with William Holden in “Golden Boy”. It was operated by Latchis Theatres. It was closed in 1951.

Contributed by Dave Bonan

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on March 16, 2010 at 7:30 pm

Those are not exact years, it opened before 1930 and closed after 1955

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on June 5, 2015 at 1:47 pm

The Theatre Historical Society on-line archive has the MGM Theatre Report for the Auditorium; it’s Card # 570. Address is Main Street (no number given). There is an exterior photo dated May 1941. On the upper facade there is a small sign which reads “Town Hall” which implies that this was the Town Hall auditorium. Condition is Good. It says that the theater opened about 1900 and is showing MGM films. There were 338 orchestra seats and 287 balcony, total 625 seats.

rivest266
rivest266 on June 5, 2020 at 4:56 am

Listed as far back as 1910. Closed in 1951.

SethG
SethG on August 27, 2022 at 2:52 pm

The closing date is wrong. rivest is almost certainly correct, since the building was mostly demolished in 1953. The remains of the ground floor wall can still be seen in the alley. Part of the structure was incorporated into a large single story building housing a Woolworth’s and a W.T. Grant. The Woolworth’s portion has been demolished, and the Grant’s portion remodeled again. Photos in the Paramount listing show the building that replaced the Town Hall.

Function should be removed, this was never a church.

SethG
SethG on August 27, 2022 at 3:00 pm

The Town Hall was built in 1855. The second floor had a hall and stage at least by 1885, and likely from the very beginning. In 1896, the building was extended to the rear, increasing the capacity of the ‘opera house’ to 875. The 1905 Cahn guide gives the capacity of the ‘Auditorium’ as 819. By 1906, the maps call it Festival Hall, and the 1919 (but not the 1912) map shows ‘Moving Pictures’.

spectrum
spectrum on August 3, 2023 at 9:22 pm

The current building on this site looks like it was originally a wollworth’s building, probably built early to mid 1950s. It is currently occupied by two retail stores.

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