Palace Theatre
61 Atlantic Street,
Stamford,
CT
06901
61 Atlantic Street,
Stamford,
CT
06901
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Opened June 2nd, 1927. Grand opening ad posted.
Just to clarify, the TV shows are taped at the Rich Forum. The Palace is still offering live shows.
Nice to see thats its still up and running.
Don’t know if any one you have heard as it’s been all the rage and protest as of late, but 3 NBC shows have moved into the Palace (no more Rich) and brought with them some controversy. Jerry Springer and the Steve Wilkos show as well as Maury Povich have moved their families here (sans Wilkos) and will be taping their shows at the Palace on rotating sets. The good news is that it will bring 150-200 production jobs, will pay $1.3 million for the 2-year lease with an option to extend and they will refurbish the theatre to the tune of $3 million.
A few months ago, the nearby church was peeved about Springer.
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“The theater in Town Hall had its own tragedy in store. In 1904, it burned to the ground, as did the Grand Opera House – which stood at the site of today’s Palace Theatre.”
Some nice insight into local vaudeville. View link
The Palace’s website has changed – it is now http://www.stamfordcenterforthearts.org/home.cfm#
The website has a couple “virtual tour” photos. Nicely renovated!
Also known as Vuono’s Palace.
First listed in the 1928 Stamford City Directory as showing moving pictures and vaudeville. In 1934 the name is changed to Vuono’s Palace until 1936 then reverts back to the Palace. (In 1961, the Hartman Regional Theater moves in, they move out in 1981 to Glenbrook Road.)
I picked up a new publication at Bethel Cinema called “TheatreCT” but it’s mostly for acting theater, but they do mention new things going on with the Palace in Stamford and Waterbury and the Warner Theater in Torrington.
There’s a spread on the Palace in Stamford on pages 24-27 and some nice pictures of the marquee and of the inside looking at the balconies.
They use the nice plug title of “Stamford, a Rich Forum for Connecticut Culture” and it’s about how it’s quickly becoming a mecca for film and theater.
“Partly due to its proximity to Broadway, its theater community serves as both a training ground for budding artists and as a professional theater hub in its own right. Stamford Theatre Works and the Stamford Center for the Arts…incorporates the Rich Forum and the Stamford Palace Theatre, which recently enjoyed a renovation. In 2008, Stamford Theatre Works, an equity theater…will move into the Palace…making SCA a major theater center.
They also mention the other cinemas in town.
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Here is a 1950 photo, with the Palace on the right and Strand on the left:
http://tinyurl.com/qguh2
Come on Rog. You’re better than that.
Yes I am aware of the expired links. Unfortunately I have no control over The Advocate taking down a story. I will try to paste stories in the future.
Some recent photos:
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The Film Daily Yearbook,1941 and 1943 editions give the seating capacity as 1,946. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. seating is given as 1,905.
That’s true.
Michael Dinan is my brother. He’s awesome.
The Palace Theatre is located at 61 Atlantic Street.
Sponsored by
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Community celebrates grand re-opening of renovated Palace
By Michael Dinan
Special Correspondent
October 26, 2003
STAMFORD — Joan Rivers looked up from her Palace Theatre dressing-room chair at a woman who entered the small room carrying the gold mesh jacket Rivers planned to wear before 1,580 people on stage one hour later.
“The great thing about that jacket is it doesn’t wrinkle,” Rivers said in the deadpan tone that has been the comedian’s trademark since her breakthrough on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson in 1965. “It rusts.”
Rivers headlined the bill at last night’s “A Night at the Palace” gala, celebrating the theater’s much-anticipated 10-year, $15 million renovation. The event, whose title sponsors were Pitney Bowes and Xerox Foundation, benefits the Stamford Center for the Arts, the Stamford Symphony Orchestra and Arts in Education, a new program designed to bring the arts to Stamford public school students.
Patrons arriving in black-tie attire and gowns approached the red carpet under the theater’s restored terra-cotta facade, passing under a luminous 54-foot red-letter marquee and through a glass atrium to enter the new, fully equipped 18,000-square-foot multilevel lobby, where Rivers' look-alikes and costumed Broadway musical characters sang numbers amidst the crowd before the show.
“This is a great night,” Mayor Dannel Malloy said. “Cultural icing on the cake.”
News anchor Chuck Scarborogh, a Stamford resident, was master of ceremonies of the musical, comedy and song-and-dance program, which included performances by two-time Tony Award winner James Naughton, Tony Award nominee Louise Pitre, Red Hot and Broadway, Greenwich Choral Society, and maestros Skitch Henderson and Roger Nierenberg of the Stamford Symphony.
“We’ve taken as our model an awards show like the Academy Awards or the old-time ‘Night of 100 Stars,’ where no one is asked to do more than five minutes of work at one time, but the entertainment keeps coming fast and furious,” said SCA executive director George Moredock III. “The eclectic group was my own choice, so that everyone gets a taste of something.”
In addition to the show, everyone got a taste of the new Palace Theatre, whose grand re-opening will stimulate Stamford’s vibrant downtown scene, said event co-chairwoman Sandra Goldstein.
“It’s terribly exciting because it’s a big auditorium and now it has a magnificently beautiful lobby area,” she said. “In terms of the city, this is fabulous.”
Rivers, who last played the Palace seven years ago, praised the renovation.
“It’s so nice here,” she said. “It’s gorgeous, really beautiful. Thank God they didn’t go for modern — they kept it a classic look.”
Henderson, a New Milford resident who founded The New York Pops in 1983 after a successful run heading the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, said he “believes in these houses.”
“I’m probably the only one here who worked in vaudeville,” said Henderson, 85, recalling that the Palace was a vaudeville theater when it opened in 1927. “Now here I am. I played Carnegie Hall last night and, aesthetically, coming here is a step in equilibrium from Carnegie.”
Barbara Soroca, the symphony’s executive director, said she looked forward to the future in the renovated theater.
“This is totally amazing, that we now have a home that is truly spectactular,” Soroca said. “I think the audience will be amazed by the beauty and size of it.”
In his dressing room before the show, Scarborough downplayed his ability to perform emcee duties.
“We just did the dress rehearsal, and it went tremendously well,” said Scarborough, who has won 24 Emmys. “All these people are professional and know what they’re doing, which relieves me of the same duties.”
Scarborough was drawn to participate in the occasion by “a chance to support the arts in Stamford in a unique way.”
For Downtown Special Services District member and Telluride restaurant owner Mary Schaffer, supporting the renovated Palace Theater is a progressive way to support the arts.
“We looking forward to the synergy of the arts and nightlife in the city,” she said. “We’re moving into the new millenium with a fresh face on the Palace.”
Copyright © 2003, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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we are hoping to restore an old movie theater in Jaffrey, NH that was built in the 30’s and closed in early 70’s. Would like to learn from those of you that have been through this process. Would like meet with anyone that could share their experiences in this type of restoration.
Look forward to hearing from you
Thanks,
Charlie Palmer Jaffrey Mainstreet