Palace Theatre
2nd Avenue,
Alton,
IA
51003
2nd Avenue,
Alton,
IA
51003
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: March Bros. Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: New Palace Thetare
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The Palace Theatre was opened on December 21, 1935 with James Cagney in “The Frisco Kid”. It was operated by the March Bros. Theaters Inc. circuit. It suffered a great deal of damage in a fire on May 21, 1944, caused when film was stuck in a projector. It was rebuilt, reopening on October 19, 1944. It was closed in May 1976 when another fire destroyed the building.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Managed by R.H. Graham, the March Bros. operated Palace Theatre opened its doors on December 21, 1935 with James Cagney in “The Frisco Kid”. On its opening day, many stuff were handed out for free such as coffee and doughnuts for patrons who attended the opening attraction, even a free radio was also given by particulars.
On May 21, 1944, during the first 30 minutes of its 1 out of a 3-day showing of “Thank You Lucky Stars”, the theater projector was jammed and the theater was destroyed by a fire. The operator, Howard Goettsch, while rewinding a 2000ft reel inside the booth, stops by near the projector to look around and realized that one of the reels had caught itself on fire. The theater was mostly destroyed except the walls and marquee. It was rebuilt beginning on July 20, 1944 and reopened later that year on October 19, 1944. Reopened with Frank Sinatra in “Step Freely” with no extras, the theater was equipped with new sound equipment from RCA and new projection from Simplex.
It was closed in May 1976 after being destroyed by another fire.