Palace Theater

The Palace Theater was opened in early-March 1937 with 650 seats, replacing an earlier 1926 built Palace Theatre which was destroyed by fire in September 1936. After closing in the 1980’s the building deteriorated badly.

In 2010 the Childress Theatre Company’s Palace restoration committee oversaw the restoration and re-installed the original 1937 neon sign. In 2011, they restored the Art Deco style facade with new plaster and the original colors (according to a 1941 color-tinted photograph in their possession). In 2012, a new roof was put on the building, the first replacement since the Palace Theater was built.

By spring 2013, there is still much work to be done inside the building, but a completion and anticipated re-opening of the Palace Theater is anticipated for the fall of 2014, in time for a Childress County All-School Reunion. Fundraising continues throughout each year, and grants and other specially designated gifts are being applied for.

The Palace Theater was designated as a Historic Landmark by Texas Historical Commission in 2005. The town of Childress was named in 2013 as ‘Texas Mainstreet Community’, and the Palace Theater will be the flagship of downtown Childress in a formal announcement by the First Lady of Texas, Anita Perry, at a ceremony taking place in front of the Palace Theater on March 28, 2013.

A summer fundraiser was held on June 29, 2013. Renovations were carried out in 2018 and it reopened in February 2019 with 250 seats in the orchestra level (the balcony is currently closed). Some minor renovations are ongoing.

Recent comments (view all 47 comments)

Jude747 on January 1, 2013 at 11:12 pm

Thanks for the encouragement Patsy. Our community sees now that this is going to happen and we are getting great support. One couple has given us two classic vehicles which we hope to sell in 2013. One is a 1976 Cadillac ElDorado convertible, beautiful and in perfect condition. The other is a 1974 International Harvester pickup truck, yellow with green, so-ugly-its-cute, with original sales papers! Can’t wait to find the right owners for these!

swoop80 on March 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm

Jude – congrats on this! Please keep us updated. Also – I have some questions regarding use of the theater when ready. Is there a website or facebook page, etc where I can ask a question or 2? Any contact info for that would be appreciated. Thanks!

Patsy on March 15, 2013 at 6:29 pm

Do wish former resident..Lou Dobbs would invest in his hometown and theatre.

Jude747 on March 22, 2013 at 3:33 pm

Great things continue to happen in Childress. The city has been named a Texas Main Community, and our beautiful Palace will be the star attraction on our vintage brick Main Street. For information about the Palace project and our progress, check us out at www.rememberthepalace.com . You’ll like what you see, swoop80, Patsy, and Don Lewis. Patsy, will you send this to Ross Melnick?

Patsy on March 22, 2013 at 3:37 pm

Yes, send the link to Ross as he would love to see it. And thanks for listing me twice though there is only one of me! Have a great day!

Jude747 on March 22, 2013 at 4:30 pm

How do I send this link to Ross? I am so technology handicapped!

Jude747 on March 22, 2013 at 4:33 pm

Left out a word in above comment. Childress has been named a Texas Main Street Community.

Patsy on March 22, 2013 at 8:48 pm

WoodyinNYC on March 19, 2015 at 12:15 am

Amarillo Sunday News Globe, Sept 27, 1936

CHILDRESS Plans for erection of a new $50,000 theater to replace the Palace Theater, which was destroyed by fire here two weeks ago, have been announced by R.O. Layton, manager.

The new building will be on the site of the old Palace but will have enlarged seating capacity and more modern equipment. Scott Dunne, Dallas architect, has been engaged to draw plans for the new structure …

http://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10025/newspaper-archive?itemId=743940799&action=showRecord

Joe Vogel on February 14, 2022 at 7:54 am

The March 2, 1937 issue of Film Daily said “[t]he new Palace at Childress, Tex., will open in [a] few days.”