I helped do some of the restoration work on the Palace as a volunteer back in the mid-70s, and I think I can fill in some of the holes in your knowledge.
Downtown Lorain (about 35 mi west of Cleveland) was pretty much trashed by a tornado in 1924. The Palace was built just after that as a full dress silent-movie palace. It still has its original Wurlitzer and was extremely popular well into the 60s. (We moved to Lorain in 1965, and I can remember going to the movies there MANY times and the place was packed.) However, not long after that, a mall was built about fifteen miles away that pretty much gutted downtown, and that took the theaters (Palace, Tivoli, Ohio, and VL Cinema) with it. The Palace was actually the first to go because of its size and the expense of running it.
The place deteriorated pretty quickly – its last owners had done little if any maintenance work to it, and by the time the city bought it in the early 70s, it was almost too far gone to save. However, over the space of about three years (IIRC, it was ready for the Bicentennial in 76)the place was made very presentable. In fact, the first thing they showed there was a Halloween night showing of Lon Chaney’s ‘Phantom Of the Opera’.
Since then, the Palace has been mostly used for stage shows and concerts, with movies only occasionally showing up and then mostly for their historical or classic value. However, to the best of my knowledge, it’s still open and healthy – http://www.lorainpalace.org/theatre.asp
I helped do some of the restoration work on the Palace as a volunteer back in the mid-70s, and I think I can fill in some of the holes in your knowledge.
Downtown Lorain (about 35 mi west of Cleveland) was pretty much trashed by a tornado in 1924. The Palace was built just after that as a full dress silent-movie palace. It still has its original Wurlitzer and was extremely popular well into the 60s. (We moved to Lorain in 1965, and I can remember going to the movies there MANY times and the place was packed.) However, not long after that, a mall was built about fifteen miles away that pretty much gutted downtown, and that took the theaters (Palace, Tivoli, Ohio, and VL Cinema) with it. The Palace was actually the first to go because of its size and the expense of running it.
The place deteriorated pretty quickly – its last owners had done little if any maintenance work to it, and by the time the city bought it in the early 70s, it was almost too far gone to save. However, over the space of about three years (IIRC, it was ready for the Bicentennial in 76)the place was made very presentable. In fact, the first thing they showed there was a Halloween night showing of Lon Chaney’s ‘Phantom Of the Opera’.
Since then, the Palace has been mostly used for stage shows and concerts, with movies only occasionally showing up and then mostly for their historical or classic value. However, to the best of my knowledge, it’s still open and healthy – http://www.lorainpalace.org/theatre.asp
Best regards,
Mike Kozlowski
Sumter SC