Lorain Palace Theatre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lorain Palace Theatre
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 617 Broadway Ave, Lorain, Ohio |
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| Area | Lorain, Lorain County, Ohio |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Gothic, Italian Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002109 |
| Added to NRHP | 1978 |
The Lorain Palace Theatre is a historic movie theater located in Lorain, Ohio. It first opened its doors in 1928. On its opening night, it showed a special preview of the Paramount movie "Something Always Happens". This was a very important event because it was the first "talky" (a movie with sound) ever shown in the entire state of Ohio! Today, the theater is still open. It serves as a community center, a place to watch movies, hold meetings, and enjoy live shows.
The theater has a unique mix of design styles. Its main hall, called the auditorium, looks like an Italian Renaissance Revival building. The lobby, where people enter, has a Venetian Gothic style. Inside, you can see a beautiful crystal chandelier and a special Wurlitzer pipe organ. There are also two large, fancy seating areas called loges. These amazing features helped the building be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. This means it's a very important historical site.
Contents
History of the Lorain Palace Theatre
Building After the Tornado
The Lorain Palace Theatre was built as part of a big plan to rebuild downtown Lorain. A terrible tornado hit the area in 1924. This storm, known as the 1924 Lorain-Sandusky Tornado, destroyed most of the city center. Another theater nearby, the State Theater, had its roof and balcony collapse during a show, causing many injuries.
Because of this, when the Palace Theatre was finished four years later, it was built very carefully. It was the largest movie theater in Ohio with only one floor. It was designed without a balcony on purpose, remembering what happened at the State Theater. The Palace was also built with strong, "tornado-proof" concrete to make it extra safe.
Seating and the Wurlitzer Organ
When it first opened, the theater was designed to seat 1,720 people. Today, it seats about 1,400 people.
The Wurlitzer Organ is a very special part of the theater. It is still working and is the original organ from when the theater first opened. This Wurlitzer organ is one of only three in Ohio that are still working in their original locations. This specific type of organ, a Wurlitzer Style 200, is even rarer. It's one of only two in the whole world that is still in its original spot and condition! The organ was carefully fixed up in 2014 to keep it playing beautifully.
Changes in Popularity
The Lorain Palace Theatre was very popular through the 1960s. However, its popularity started to decrease after a new shopping center, the Midway Mall, was built nearby in Elyria. Many other theaters and shops in the area also closed around that time.
Restoring the Palace Theatre
Starting the Renovation Work
People started working to restore the theater in 1977. A special non-profit group now runs the theater. They have raised more than $6 million to help fix up and improve the building. They made a first payment of $25,000 to buy the $100,000 building. A big fundraising effort began, and in May 1977, the Palace Theater was officially bought. A grand opening celebration was held to mark this new beginning.
New Projectors and Sound
For a long time, the Palace had used the same old carbon arc projectors since 1935. These projectors made light by sending 80 amps of electricity between two carbon rods. This created enough light to show the movie on a screen 180 feet (about 55 meters) away. Recently, the theater moved these old projectors to the lobby for display. They installed a brand new movie system. This includes a modern platter projector, a digital projector, and a 16-speaker surround sound system for amazing audio.
Special Visitors and Future Plans
In 1979, First Lady Rosalynn Carter visited the theater. She recognized the hard work of about 800 volunteers. These volunteers had just finished a lot of important renovation work on the theater.
In 2008, there was a plan to connect the Lorain Palace Theatre to the next-door Eagles Building. They wanted to build a glass walkway between them. The city of Lorain offered a $200,000 grant to help. Most of this money would be used to buy the Eagles Building. The rest would help pay for changes to the theater's front and its sign. However, a lot more money, about $7.5 million, was needed to finish the whole project. This included fixing up the inside and outside of the 37,000 square foot (about 3,437 square meter) Eagles building, part of the theater, and building the walkway.
The Lorain Palace Today
The Palace Theatre in Lorain still faces challenges with funding. However, it has managed to reach its fundraising goals to stay open. For example, in October 2008, the theater held a masquerade ball that raised an extra $6,000. The theater has also made smart budget cuts. For now, it continues to operate with the help of donations and other fundraising events.
See also
- Movie palaces list
