Palace Theatre (Manchester, New Hampshire) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Athens Building
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The Palace Theatre in 2014
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | 76-96 Hanover St., Manchester, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1914 |
| Architect | Leon Lempert & Son |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000123 |
| Added to NRHP | May 30, 1975 |
The Palace Theatre is a famous place in Manchester, New Hampshire, where people go to watch live shows. It's located on Hanover Street. This theater was built a long time ago, in 1914. It's also known as the Athens Building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it's an important historical site.
Contents
The Palace Theatre's Story
How the Palace Theatre Began
In June 1914, a Greek immigrant named Victor Charas started building this theater. He worked with Henry Macropol, a contractor, and Leon Lempert & Son, an architect. The theater was designed to look like the famous Palace Theatre in New York City.
It was built very quickly, in less than a year. People at the time said it was "the only first-class theatre in New Hampshire that was fireproof and air-conditioned." The air conditioning was special! It used fans that blew air over huge blocks of ice under the stage.
The Palace Theatre first opened its doors on April 9, 1915. Local newspapers called the opening night "the grandest social occasion of the century." A musical comedy called Modern Eve played to a full house. All the theaters in downtown Manchester, with their bright lights, were known as The Great White Way.
Until 1930, the Palace Theatre often hosted traveling vaudeville shows. These shows featured many famous performers of the time. Some stars who performed there included Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Harry Houdini, The Marx Brothers, and Red Skelton. Local acting groups, like The Palace players, sometimes performed up to a dozen shows a week.
A historian from Manchester, John Patrick Jordan, even wrote a book about these early years. It's called Check Your Hat. The Vaudeville Years of the Palace Theater. 1915 - 1955.
When the Theatre Struggled
Around the late 1920s, vaudeville shows became less popular. Silent movies and then "talkies" (movies with sound) started drawing bigger crowds. The Palace Theatre had to change to stay open. From 1930 until the early 1960s, it mainly showed movies.
By the late 1960s, the Palace Theatre was no longer used for live shows. Instead, it became a classroom space for New Hampshire College. This college is now called Southern New Hampshire University. When the college moved to a new campus, the Palace Theatre became empty. It started to fall apart. The seats were taken out, and the stage equipment was left behind. The building was even used as a warehouse for a while.
The Theatre's Comeback
In 1973, two young people, Jon Ogden and Rebecca Gould, learned about the theater. A lawyer named John McLane had convinced the Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation to help save the Palace. The Bean Foundation provided $500,000 to fix up the theater.
McLane and Gould worked hard to raise money to keep the Palace running. Ogden was in charge of the renovation work. On November 2, 1974, the Palace Theatre reopened! It had a new look, new lights, and new seats. Ogden and his team were still putting in the last few seats just 30 minutes before the opening.
The mayor, Sylvio Dupuis, was part of the opening night celebration. Ogden became the leader of the new non-profit group that ran the theater. Gould became its public relations director.
The theater building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It was listed as the "Athens Building."
In early 1980, Ogden and Gould left their roles. A new board of directors, led by McLane, cut the theater's budget a lot. In December 1980, during a very cold time, the sprinkler system froze. When it thawed, a pipe broke, and 70,000 gallons of water flooded the theater!
In 1984, a fire destroyed many buildings on Hanover Street. But the Palace Theatre was saved! Its original design included a strong firewall, which stopped the fire from spreading further down the street.
The Palace Theatre Today
The Palace Theatre building has two main parts. The front part, facing Hanover Street, is a two-story building made of brick and stone. It has five storefronts. The theater's lobby is in the storefront on the far west side.
Behind this front section is the main auditorium. This is a tall building where the shows happen. The auditorium is about 72 feet long and 59 feet wide. When it first opened, it could seat 1,100 people. After its big renovation, it now has seats for 880 people.
Images for kids
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A logo for the Palace Theatre.
