Wow! DaSilva has changed his tune in the latest issue of Hat City Entertainment and wants to fix it up and “give” it to the city! (Last night, Danbury’s Common Council voted to approve $75K for the CT film fest).
The article was called “Polishing a Gem” and here is the meat.
“We are taking it forward and fact-finding at the same time,” said J Joe DaSilva, current owner…he is working diligently to revitalize the building…"
With numerous legal pieces which need to be addressed, such as the venue’s non-profit status, funding, grants and the issue of historical preservation…
“…it is going to be reopened, but we have no date in mind…we are looking to restore it as best as we can as a performing arts theatre for both live shows and movies – and then anything else.”
The upper and lower lobbies are also earmarked for the possibility of creating exhibition space for local artists and/or sculptors.
…two lower level 500-seat theatres and the 1,000 seat upper balcony area. Eventually…intention is to make it into one 2,000-seat venue.
Currently in process are inspections that will determine exactly what needs to be done to the theatre for its impending restoration…DaSilva reports that the Palace has been well preserved…multi-faceted venue…we want to attract everything available, just about anything will be allowed…use by Danbury High, WCSU…work will not nearly be completed in time (by December 2008).
DaSilva is hopeful that some areas of the theatre could be ready in time for the (CT Film) Festival’s May stop, possibly to show some of the films in the smaller theatres.
I came across this theatre in a magazine called “Route 66 Pulse” out of New York State, dedicated to preserving Route 66 as a destination. There are ads from the entire route and last issue there was a small piece on Jerome which was revitalized by hippies and artists in the sixties. They of course mentioned this theatre – “Jerome is also home to a Cinema Museum housed in the old Liberty Theatre that opened in 1918 and closed in 1929. It is a working theatre today.
I was just watching a youtube video on Charles Nelson Reilly (RIP) and he was talking in an interview about why he hates going to theaters and being in crowds. (He was at the circus in Hartford in 1944 when a fire broke out and killed 168 people). He mentioned his friend’s mother owned the Lenox Theatre on Albany Avenue.
Regarding movie palaces, these days, it would cost 5 times as much as it did then to replicate, so that’s not going to happen. But what would be cool would be a movie palace replica in fiberglass and other cheap materials, resembling a movie palace. Vegas has some money. I think that’s a great idea. Build a replica of an atmospheric.
Well, even though you guys traditionally write novels on here, what would it take to get Vegas entrepreneurs to build an old fashioned movie palace? These days, it would cost 5 times as much as it did then, so that’s not going to happen. But what would be cool would be a movie palace replica in fiberglass and other cheap materials, resembling a movie palace.
In today’s News-Times, on the front page of the local section is a piece of the renovation of this theatre. New owner, Gary Goldring of Sherman and Theatre Manager James Stewart are adding finishing touches on the interior and exterior. They include: new equipment in the projection booth, new bathrooms and a new concession area after folks buy their tickets (instead of the one tucked away). The ticket area will be smaller and add some space to the lobby. (The ticket window will stay).
Page 17 of the newest edition of the Fairfield County Business Journal has a pic of the newly renovated Palace marquee, sandwiched between a pic of Marcus Dairy and the old Filene’s. It’s titled, “Dynamic Danbury” but the article makes no mention of the Palace.
I have all the info on this theatre as I talked to the owner extensively yesterday.
The marquee is still there but it’s whitewashed. Inside towards the back there’s a lot of water damage. There’s been a drop ceiling in place but only for ¾ of the lobby, after that it’s a higher ceiling (maybe 5 feet) and lots of rotting wood that they are getting fixed, but you can see the original ceiling. Original 1950s movie poster of Humphrey Bogart are still in the original poster holders.
Roger Katz of CinemaTour has pics from 2002 but the owner doesn’t remember giving a tour then, only in 1993 to some cinema buffs from Wesleyan and he opened and bought the place in 1991. He spoke straightforward and against dirty politics, of which he feels and knows he’s received over the years.
He said shortly after he bought it, Wesleyan wanted to build a performing arts center and the Capitol he agreed would be perfect as everything was still intact, seats, etc. They told him they wanted him to buy it, which he had done (I guess he rented it then bought it) and they said they would buy it from him and net him more money which never happened and he’s quite bitter about it. They built one for many millions on the north side of town. He’s convinced that if the infrastructure’s already in place then it would be less money to for a conversion.
Then the Goodspeed Opera House (in East Haddam, just over the river and south) was interested and the City of Middletown said they wanted to buy it and then sell it to the opera folks, which never happened.
He told me had an engineer come in a while back to check for structural damage and even though the place was looted years back for seats and other things, the building is built from extremely strong steel, not supposed to be used for theaters, let’s put it that way. He said there’s a lot of water damage but it’s a little dangerous.
One good thing, the projectors are still there and he wants to sell them. I gave him this website and told him to post it. Very nice guy.
I was there yesterday at night as I was cycling from Hartford to Old Saybrook. The mural in the front is quite nice, a picture of a ship from the dock with a Norman Rockwell-esque child and dog feel to it. There are 2 retail shops open on the right and 1 large vacant one on the left. If you go around to the back, there’s a Romeo and Juliet balcony with pillars. The side of the former auditorium has 5 or 6 retail establishments that all look alike with 2 ionic pillars for each entrance.
I must say this is the nicest conversion of cinema to retail I’ve seen as it really fits in the with the charm of the area.
The program guide which had a cornice on the front was called “Reveal: What Lies Behind the Facade, told about how this event came together with DaSilva and the Boyajian’s, (Carter and Peter, husband and wife) who are sculptors and designers. They also have lots of sculptures at the Sculpture Barn in New Fairfield, quite cool if you haven’t been there.
Anyway, it says, “Recently, I received a phone call from Joe DaSilva, the sole property owner of the Palace, to inquire about what it would take to restore a Carrara marble statue from the late 1800s by Tadolini, located in the lobby…”
One more thing. I stopped in earlier in the day to talk to Gartner and she told me that the person I had known who was renovating, was untrue! DaSilva had never heard of him. That’s weird. Why would he make that up? Oh well.
Alright. I went to First Night earlier at the Palace. The marquee’s letters were glowing in red. My friend’s country/bluegrass/ragtime trio was playing in the inside foyer (Ernest Hem'n Haw and the Shotgun Republic). The ad for the opening night of the Palace that’s also in the Local History Room of the Danbury Library was in the lobby as well as older pictures. The long hallway, wood paneling, mirrors, floors and decorative lamps were all restored-looking. There was some spotty paint splotches of old and the downslope to the lobby was beautiful. I had never been there before as I had moved there when it had closed.
The grand lobby had the multimedia installation and there was a great plaster statue in the center. Since the room was oval, there was a sheet strung from first level ceiling to the floor in front of you (and the statue) and around to the left and right sides in front of the stairwells). There was a dancer in all blue tights dancing behind them to the violin music. There were multi-colored stage lights on the floor giving an eerie and beautiful scope. If you looked straight up you saw a small blue ellipse of light moving back and forth.
The ballustrade oval was great and everything was touched up including the Corynthian columns and large lamps. At the top of the oval ballustrade were (original?) gas lamps with blue light bulbs, almost like a candelabra in 4 spots giving off a great ambience. There was a violinist upstairs playing. The installation was a projector overhead that showed pictures for about 5 seconds per frame, so it lasted about 10-15 minutes of all pics the artist was allowed to take of the theatre, including original washtubs in the bathrooms, stagehouse, fly, auditorium, old reels stacked, etc.
I took about 40 pictures with my new digital camera. I’ll set up a page and post a link shortly so you can see them.
Andrea Gartner, new ED of City Center Danbury has recently put the landlord, now sole owner, DaSilva in touch with her friends in theatre restoration folks.
The volunteers gave generic responses to the crowd and it wasn’t my time to correct them, like “there’s a new resurgence to spruce up this gem.” BS. since the Dyer administration in the 70s. Or how water mains broke in there years back and it was a shame. The shame was owning a building and keeping the taxes paid and having it still lit inside and not having anyone see it and letting it go to…ok i’ll stop.
The Greenwich Historical Society emailed me this on it being an Atmospheric.
“Unfortunately we can neither confirm nor deny that this was an
Atmospheric Theatre. There may still be building permits in Greenwich’s Town Hall that may prove your point. Here is the link, and if you look to the right, you will see "archives”, but I suggest you try calling first. www.greenwichct.org/PublicWorks/PublicWorks.asp
Unfortunately, we have very little information on that wonderful
structure and information being as fragile as it is (and was) never was donated to the archives. You may want to try the local historian at Greenwich Library: www.greenwichlibrary.org
“Pickwick Theatre, which opened in 1929 with 1,915 seats, a Wurlitzer organ and a Spanish courtyard-style interior, was closed by 1959 and turned into a bowling alley.”
Well, CinemaTour also lists Live theatre too, so their higher number is for that reason.
BigWoo, 203-748-9112
Pictures of the dome. http://www.saintdisco.com/
Still empty on the inside. A few posts ago it says it will open a few months after Two Boots opens, which was around Christmas. So April?
Wow! DaSilva has changed his tune in the latest issue of Hat City Entertainment and wants to fix it up and “give” it to the city! (Last night, Danbury’s Common Council voted to approve $75K for the CT film fest).
The article was called “Polishing a Gem” and here is the meat.
“We are taking it forward and fact-finding at the same time,” said J Joe DaSilva, current owner…he is working diligently to revitalize the building…"
With numerous legal pieces which need to be addressed, such as the venue’s non-profit status, funding, grants and the issue of historical preservation…
“…it is going to be reopened, but we have no date in mind…we are looking to restore it as best as we can as a performing arts theatre for both live shows and movies – and then anything else.”
The upper and lower lobbies are also earmarked for the possibility of creating exhibition space for local artists and/or sculptors.
…two lower level 500-seat theatres and the 1,000 seat upper balcony area. Eventually…intention is to make it into one 2,000-seat venue.
Currently in process are inspections that will determine exactly what needs to be done to the theatre for its impending restoration…DaSilva reports that the Palace has been well preserved…multi-faceted venue…we want to attract everything available, just about anything will be allowed…use by Danbury High, WCSU…work will not nearly be completed in time (by December 2008).
DaSilva is hopeful that some areas of the theatre could be ready in time for the (CT Film) Festival’s May stop, possibly to show some of the films in the smaller theatres.
“It is getting very exciting,” DaSilva enthused.
I came across this theatre in a magazine called “Route 66 Pulse” out of New York State, dedicated to preserving Route 66 as a destination. There are ads from the entire route and last issue there was a small piece on Jerome which was revitalized by hippies and artists in the sixties. They of course mentioned this theatre – “Jerome is also home to a Cinema Museum housed in the old Liberty Theatre that opened in 1918 and closed in 1929. It is a working theatre today.
The exteriors were shot in the film, “School Ties” in 1992.
Try calling the city hall’s permits department.
I was just watching a youtube video on Charles Nelson Reilly (RIP) and he was talking in an interview about why he hates going to theaters and being in crowds. (He was at the circus in Hartford in 1944 when a fire broke out and killed 168 people). He mentioned his friend’s mother owned the Lenox Theatre on Albany Avenue.
Rockaway was the first megaplex in the country?
Regarding movie palaces, these days, it would cost 5 times as much as it did then to replicate, so that’s not going to happen. But what would be cool would be a movie palace replica in fiberglass and other cheap materials, resembling a movie palace. Vegas has some money. I think that’s a great idea. Build a replica of an atmospheric.
Well, even though you guys traditionally write novels on here, what would it take to get Vegas entrepreneurs to build an old fashioned movie palace? These days, it would cost 5 times as much as it did then, so that’s not going to happen. But what would be cool would be a movie palace replica in fiberglass and other cheap materials, resembling a movie palace.
No doubt the news comes in time for MLK Day. A walk of fame? Awesome and appropriate.
They said the theatre has 500 seats. Is this true? Did they add some?
In today’s News-Times, on the front page of the local section is a piece of the renovation of this theatre. New owner, Gary Goldring of Sherman and Theatre Manager James Stewart are adding finishing touches on the interior and exterior. They include: new equipment in the projection booth, new bathrooms and a new concession area after folks buy their tickets (instead of the one tucked away). The ticket area will be smaller and add some space to the lobby. (The ticket window will stay).
Page 17 of the newest edition of the Fairfield County Business Journal has a pic of the newly renovated Palace marquee, sandwiched between a pic of Marcus Dairy and the old Filene’s. It’s titled, “Dynamic Danbury” but the article makes no mention of the Palace.
I have all the info on this theatre as I talked to the owner extensively yesterday.
The marquee is still there but it’s whitewashed. Inside towards the back there’s a lot of water damage. There’s been a drop ceiling in place but only for ¾ of the lobby, after that it’s a higher ceiling (maybe 5 feet) and lots of rotting wood that they are getting fixed, but you can see the original ceiling. Original 1950s movie poster of Humphrey Bogart are still in the original poster holders.
Roger Katz of CinemaTour has pics from 2002 but the owner doesn’t remember giving a tour then, only in 1993 to some cinema buffs from Wesleyan and he opened and bought the place in 1991. He spoke straightforward and against dirty politics, of which he feels and knows he’s received over the years.
He said shortly after he bought it, Wesleyan wanted to build a performing arts center and the Capitol he agreed would be perfect as everything was still intact, seats, etc. They told him they wanted him to buy it, which he had done (I guess he rented it then bought it) and they said they would buy it from him and net him more money which never happened and he’s quite bitter about it. They built one for many millions on the north side of town. He’s convinced that if the infrastructure’s already in place then it would be less money to for a conversion.
Then the Goodspeed Opera House (in East Haddam, just over the river and south) was interested and the City of Middletown said they wanted to buy it and then sell it to the opera folks, which never happened.
He told me had an engineer come in a while back to check for structural damage and even though the place was looted years back for seats and other things, the building is built from extremely strong steel, not supposed to be used for theaters, let’s put it that way. He said there’s a lot of water damage but it’s a little dangerous.
One good thing, the projectors are still there and he wants to sell them. I gave him this website and told him to post it. Very nice guy.
If anyone needs the few pics I took of this, you can email me at
I was there yesterday at night as I was cycling from Hartford to Old Saybrook. The mural in the front is quite nice, a picture of a ship from the dock with a Norman Rockwell-esque child and dog feel to it. There are 2 retail shops open on the right and 1 large vacant one on the left. If you go around to the back, there’s a Romeo and Juliet balcony with pillars. The side of the former auditorium has 5 or 6 retail establishments that all look alike with 2 ionic pillars for each entrance.
I must say this is the nicest conversion of cinema to retail I’ve seen as it really fits in the with the charm of the area.
My friend set up a link on his page with all my Palace pics. Enjoy folks!
http://gallery.mac.com/joeaguy#100046
The last one is #208, the other ones are from NYE.
The program guide which had a cornice on the front was called “Reveal: What Lies Behind the Facade, told about how this event came together with DaSilva and the Boyajian’s, (Carter and Peter, husband and wife) who are sculptors and designers. They also have lots of sculptures at the Sculpture Barn in New Fairfield, quite cool if you haven’t been there.
Anyway, it says, “Recently, I received a phone call from Joe DaSilva, the sole property owner of the Palace, to inquire about what it would take to restore a Carrara marble statue from the late 1800s by Tadolini, located in the lobby…”
One more thing. I stopped in earlier in the day to talk to Gartner and she told me that the person I had known who was renovating, was untrue! DaSilva had never heard of him. That’s weird. Why would he make that up? Oh well.
Alright. I went to First Night earlier at the Palace. The marquee’s letters were glowing in red. My friend’s country/bluegrass/ragtime trio was playing in the inside foyer (Ernest Hem'n Haw and the Shotgun Republic). The ad for the opening night of the Palace that’s also in the Local History Room of the Danbury Library was in the lobby as well as older pictures. The long hallway, wood paneling, mirrors, floors and decorative lamps were all restored-looking. There was some spotty paint splotches of old and the downslope to the lobby was beautiful. I had never been there before as I had moved there when it had closed.
The grand lobby had the multimedia installation and there was a great plaster statue in the center. Since the room was oval, there was a sheet strung from first level ceiling to the floor in front of you (and the statue) and around to the left and right sides in front of the stairwells). There was a dancer in all blue tights dancing behind them to the violin music. There were multi-colored stage lights on the floor giving an eerie and beautiful scope. If you looked straight up you saw a small blue ellipse of light moving back and forth.
The ballustrade oval was great and everything was touched up including the Corynthian columns and large lamps. At the top of the oval ballustrade were (original?) gas lamps with blue light bulbs, almost like a candelabra in 4 spots giving off a great ambience. There was a violinist upstairs playing. The installation was a projector overhead that showed pictures for about 5 seconds per frame, so it lasted about 10-15 minutes of all pics the artist was allowed to take of the theatre, including original washtubs in the bathrooms, stagehouse, fly, auditorium, old reels stacked, etc.
I took about 40 pictures with my new digital camera. I’ll set up a page and post a link shortly so you can see them.
Andrea Gartner, new ED of City Center Danbury has recently put the landlord, now sole owner, DaSilva in touch with her friends in theatre restoration folks.
The volunteers gave generic responses to the crowd and it wasn’t my time to correct them, like “there’s a new resurgence to spruce up this gem.” BS. since the Dyer administration in the 70s. Or how water mains broke in there years back and it was a shame. The shame was owning a building and keeping the taxes paid and having it still lit inside and not having anyone see it and letting it go to…ok i’ll stop.
Happy new year!
The Greenwich Historical Society emailed me this on it being an Atmospheric.
“Unfortunately we can neither confirm nor deny that this was an
Atmospheric Theatre. There may still be building permits in Greenwich’s Town Hall that may prove your point. Here is the link, and if you look to the right, you will see "archives”, but I suggest you try calling first. www.greenwichct.org/PublicWorks/PublicWorks.asp
Unfortunately, we have very little information on that wonderful
structure and information being as fragile as it is (and was) never was donated to the archives. You may want to try the local historian at Greenwich Library: www.greenwichlibrary.org
From the latest Stamford Advocate – View link
“Pickwick Theatre, which opened in 1929 with 1,915 seats, a Wurlitzer organ and a Spanish courtyard-style interior, was closed by 1959 and turned into a bowling alley.”