Palace Theatre
61 S. Broadway,
Peru,
IN
46970
61 S. Broadway,
Peru,
IN
46970
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This theatre first appears on the 1912 Sanborn, in a two-story brick building just north of the alley, which had previously been a hardware store.
By 1920, the theatre has expanded into the building to the north, the rear wall of which has been moved back to be flush with that of the original building. The floor plan has been rearranged, and two tiny commercial spaces hug the side walls. These are a barber and a clothing store at this point.
The two buildings may have dated to before 1883, in which case they were modified over years to deepen the structure. If they were replaced at some point, the southern storefront dates to no later than 1906. The facades have also been much modified, and the buildings are once again separate. 61 is a bar, and 59 appears to be a hair salon.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
This house must have been the second Palace Theatre in Peru. Indiana Album has a photo dated c.1905 showing a Palace Theatre with a note on the back saying it was the second door north of 2nd Street on the west side of Broadway.
An item pertaining to the later Palace appears in The Moving Picture World of September 11, 1915, saying that about $1,000 was being expended on improvements to the house. Then the October 2 issue of MPW had this item:
We have the Palace identified as the Isis. Ken often tries to help me out with an ID, which I almost never have. In this case, there’s such an absurd number of theaters coming and going within just a few blocks, so mistakes are to be expected.