Palace Theatre
101 W. Bertsch Street,
Lansford,
PA
18232
101 W. Bertsch Street,
Lansford,
PA
18232
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Apparently had two fires, 1934 and 1968. Descriptions below credit Christopher Matt.
THIS DAY IN LANSFORD HISTORY-MARCH 14, 1934 FIRE IN THEATER AND COLLIERY AT LANSFORD Fire caused damage at the Palace theater at Coal and Bertsch Sts. and at an oil storage house at the Lansford colliery. The fire at the Palace, reopened in December after it had been remodeled at a cost of $20,000, started under the stage at the front of the theater. Damage is estimated at $25,000. Until repairs are completed, the picture shows will be shown at the Victoria theater.
The damage at the colliery was confined to the frame building housing a supply oil in barrels and drums.
THIS DAY IN LANSFORD HISTORY-NOVEMBER 30, 1968
FIRE DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT OVER $20,000 AT FORMER PALACE THEATER Damages are estimated to be more than $20,000 from a fire that ripped through the former Palace Theater on Coal St. yesterday. The fire was discovered by Lansford police officers Joe Delpero and Francis Karnish. they were in the vicinity when they heard an explosion. About 50 firemen were out to fight the blaze. The building is currently used by Ridge Center Inc. as a showroom. Owner William McDonald said many new furnishings were brought in for the holiday shopping season, but were destroyed. The alarm sounded at 12:10AM. Fire Chief Norman Tippett said the fire started on the main floor of the building in the southeast corner and smoldered for some time, before blowing the doors open next to where the fire originated.
Goodbye to another Palace. CinemaTour has a few exterior photos made in 1989.
The theater has been demolished.
http://www.tnonline.com/2016/dec/22/demolition-begins-palace-theater
Update: Times News of Lehighton, Tuesday, January 19, 2016,
http://www.tnonline.com/2016/jan/19/curtain-call
The Palace Theatre had not been demolished when Google’s street view camera last passed by, nor when the satellite view currently displayed was made. As far as I know it is still standing today. The building runs along the east side of Coal Street, stretching the entire block from Bertsch Street to Patterson Street. Google Maps shows only the view from Patterson Street, where the large stage house sits. Half a dozen photos from the John Lewis collection, including views of the entrance, can be found on this page at CinemaTour.
The location, as well as the size and shape of the building and its architectural details, which include a tapestry brick front, very popular in the late 1910s and early 1920s, indicate that the Palace Theatre was this project noted in the “Contracts Awarded” column of the July 1, 1922, issue of The American Contractor:
John T. Simpson was licensed as both an architect and engineer. He established an architectural practice in Newark in 1913, but had been an engineer prior to that. Judging from the notices in various trade journals of the period he specialized primarily in school buildings. The Palace might have been his only theater project.