Lorain Palace Theatre

Lorain Palace Theatre
Lorain Palace Theatre is located in Ohio
Lorain Palace Theatre
Lorain Palace Theatre is located in the United States
Lorain Palace Theatre
Location617 Broadway Ave, Lorain, Ohio
Coordinates41°27′57″N 82°10′30″W / 41.46583°N 82.17500°W / 41.46583; -82.17500
AreaLorain, Lorain County, Ohio
Built1928
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Gothic, Italian Renaissance
NRHP reference No.78002109[1]
Added to NRHP1978
Palace Theater Lorain OH

The Lorain Palace Theater is a theater located in Lorain, Ohio. Built in 1928, the opening night film was a pre-release of Paramount’s "Something Always Happens" which was the first talky ever played in the State of Ohio.[2][3] The theater is still in operation as a community Civic Center, movie theater, meeting place, and entertainment facility.[2][4]

The theater has a mix of design features including an Italian Renaissance Revival style auditorium and a Venetian Gothic style lobby. The crystal chandelier, Wurlitzer pipe organ, and two spacious loges are just some of the features which made this building worthy of being preserved.[5][6] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[7][3]

History

The theatre was built as part of an initiative to rebuild downtown Lorain, following the devastating 1924 Lorain-Sandusky Tornado which destroyed most of the town's urban center. The State Theater (located north of the Palace on Broadway) balcony and roof collapsed when the tornado struck during a show causing several casualties.[8] When the Palace was completed four years later, it was the largest one floor motion picture theatre in Ohio.[9] It was intentionally built without a balcony because of what happened at the State Theater and was built with reinforced, "tornado-proof" concrete.[3][10][11]

Initially designed to seat 1,720 people, today it seats closer to 1,400.[12][6]

The Wurlitzer Organ, still in operation, is original to the theater. It is one of three Wurlitzer Organs in Ohio that are still in operation and in their original locations.[13] This specific type of organ, Wurlitzer Style 200, is "...also one of only two Wurlitzer's of this particular style - worldwide - that is still in its original installed location and in its original installed condition." The organ was refurbished in 2014.[14][15][16]

The theater remained popular well into the 1960s.[15] However, popularity of the theatre diminished following the construction of the nearby Midway Mall in Elyria in the mid-1960s. Several other theatres and shops in the area closed their doors at this time.

Renovation

Restoration of the theatre began in 1977 and so far the non-profit organization operating the location has raised an excess of $6 million towards the cost of its restoration and renovation. Twenty-five thousand dollars was tendered as a down payment toward the purchase of the $100,000 building. A capital funds campaign was launched and in May 1977 the Palace Theater building was purchased and a grand opening was held. The Palace had been using the same carbon arc projectors since 1935. The light on the screen was created when 80 amps of electricity jumped between two large pencil-sized carbon rods. The carbon arc generated enough illumination to project the movie onto the screen 180 feet (55 m) away. Recently the theatre moved those projectors into the lobby and installed a new theatre system including a new platter projector, a digital projector, and a 16-speaker theatre surround sound system.[2]

First Lady Rosalynn Carter visited the theater in 1979, and recognized the around 800 volunteers who had recently completed major renovations to the theater.[17][18]

In 2008 a plan was made to connect the Lorain Palace Theatre with the adjacent Eagles Building via a glass arcade. The project would partly be funded by a $200,000 grant[19] from the city of Lorain, most of which would be required to purchase the Eagles Building while the rest would go to construction costs to the facade and marquee of the theatre.[20] However, an additional $7.5 million would be needed to complete the project, which includes renovating the interior and exterior of the 37,000-square-foot (3,400 m2) Eagles building, as well as a section of the theater and the construction of the arcade.[21]

Lorain Palace today

The Palace Theatre in Lorain continues to have funding issues but has thus far managed to hit fund-raising goals to keep its doors open. In October 2008, the theatre held a masquerade ball which helped bring in an additional $6,000.[21] The theatre has also made several budget cuts and for now is managing to keep itself going with the aid of donations and other fund-raising efforts.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register of Historical Places: Ohio- Lorain County".
  2. ^ a b c "Lorain Palace Theatre". Archived from the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Ohio SP Palace Theatre Building". National Archives Catalog. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  4. ^ "Lorain Palace Civic Theatre". Heritage Ohio. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  5. ^ "THEATRE TOURS - League of Historic American Theatres - Conference and Theatre Tours". www.lhat.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Zurcher, Neil (2009). Ohio road trips : 52 trips--hundreds of fun and unusual getaway ideas in Ohio. Cleveland: Gray & Co. Publishers. p. 110. ISBN 9781598510577. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "National Register of Historic Places, Ohio - Lorain County". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  8. ^ "Ohio Tornado Destroys Lorain - Business District". Engineering News-Record. 93 (2): 54:56. July 10, 1924 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Lorain County Visitors Bureau". Archived from the original on September 30, 2008.
  10. ^ Leftwich, Roosevelt (June 28, 2024). "100 years later: Remembering the tornado that devastated Lorain". Fox 8 News. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  11. ^ Baskin, John; O'Bryant, Michael, eds. (2004). The Ohio almanac : an encyclopedia of indispensable information about the Buckeye universe. Wilmington, OH: Orange Frazer Press. p. 850. ISBN 9781882203291. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "Lorain Palace Theatre". Archived from the original on April 19, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  13. ^ O'Malley, Michael (November 29, 2008). "Wurlitzer pipe organ could toot (and clang and boom and clop) again in Masonic Auditorium". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  14. ^ "Local Theatre Organs". Western Reserve Theatre Organ Society. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Weigers, Dave. "Lorain Palace Civic Center in Lorain, OH - Cinema Treasures". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  16. ^ "Palace Theatre". American Theatre Organ Society. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  17. ^ Hunter, Marjorie (March 20, 1979). "Mrs. Carter's Energy Plea: 'Try Walking'". New York Times. p. 16. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  18. ^ Hunter, Marjorie (March 22, 1979). "Mrs. Carter Sees Political Friends". New York Times. p. 36. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  19. ^ "Laws, Acts, and Legislation".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^ a b "Masquerade to save the Palace: 160 costumed visitors raise $6,000 for downtown theater - morningjournal.com". Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
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