Morris Performing Arts Center
211 N. Michigan Street,
South Bend,
IN
46601
211 N. Michigan Street,
South Bend,
IN
46601
6 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Morris Performing Arts Center (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Orpheum Circuit, Paramount Pictures Inc., RKO
Architects: Jacob S. Aroner, Edward E. Eichenbaum
Functions: Live Performances, Performing Arts
Styles: Beaux-Arts
Previous Names: Palace Theater, Morris Civic Audtiorium
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
219.235.9198
Manager:
219.235.9190
Nearby Theaters
Built on par with theaters in much larger cities, the Palace Theater was the location for vaudeville, movies, dancing and more for 37 years. It opened on November 2, 1922 with Mary Miles Minter in “The Cowboy and the Lady” on the screen plus Orpheum vaudeville on the stage. It had 2,665 seats. By 1941 it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary John Balaban.
Faced with declining numbers, the Palace Theater closed in 1955. E. M. Morris saved the classic theater from destruction and helped reopen it as a performing arts center. The center was named for her.
After years of continued use, the Morris underwent renovations which were completed in November 2011. The restoration of the structure, which includes the theater, lobby, and plaza, has returned the Morris Performing Arts Center to its palatial roots.
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Recent comments (view all 24 comments)
Cinema Treasures should cross-list the Morris under the name “Palace Theatre”, which is the name by which many old-timers remember it. I know there are gazillions of other “Palace” theaters listed under that name, but that’s precisely why it is frustrating to dig through the whole pile without finding South Bend’s “Palace”.
Seven weeks later, the Morris still hasn’t been cross-listed with the other 367 “Palace” theaters, where most old-timers will look for it. Too bad!
THS will be visiting here the week of 6/22/10-6/29/10.
Not only is the Morris renovation complete, but the adjoining Palais Royale ballroom has been fully restored. It is used frequently, including a New Years Eve. gala every year.
In it’s time as the Palace theater, this theater is one of 3 theaters in South Bend which shared the premier of “Knute Rockne All American”. The Granada theater directly across the street from the Palace, and the Colfax theater, located around the corner from the Palace on W. Colfax were the other two. A fourth theater to house the films' premier was the Fox theater in Philadelphia,( as mentioned in the Cinema Treasures article on that theater). The Morris is the only one of the four to survive today.
In the 50s and 60s, each South Bend theater seemed to specialize in a particular kind of film. The Granada was for the serious grown-up movies and epics, like the Ten Commandments. The Palace ran all of the horror films and some of the teenage movies. The Palace and the State both ran Saturday morning kids’ cartoon shows that cost about a quarter to get into. The State ran a lot of Westerns. The Colfax ran Jerry Lewis, Doris Day, etc. The River Park did a lot of second-run movies so that you could see them when you missed them the first time. And the Avon ran soft porn and art films. The drive-ins showed all kinds of schlock, since few members of the audience cared what was on the screen.
I have many fond memories of seeing a lot of ‘up and coming’ rock bands play at the Morris Civic Auditorium (as it was called then) in the early 70’s, including Kiss, Blue Oyster Cult, Bloodrock, Black Oak Arkansas, Alice Cooper, Foghat and Van Halen. I have not been inside since the recent renovations, but I am glad to see that South Bend has had the reverence for this grand old theater and that it is still being used for performances today.
There is an excellent 1928 photo of The Palace Theatre on the Historic-Memphis.com Theatre’s page. Here’s a link to the page.
Opened on November 2nd, 1922. Grand opening ad posted
Palace theatre opening Sun, Oct 29, 1922 – 27 · The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Saint Joseph, Indiana, United States of America) · Newspapers.com
This closed as Palace in 1955 as no newspaper ads were found after that.