Sunday at the Theater – Palace Theatre Addition
As the oldest remaining Orpheum theatre in the US, the Palace Theatre, located at 630 S. Broadway Ave. in downtown Los Angeles, was built in 1911.
Genesis of the Orpheum Theaters
The Orpheum Circuit was a group of theatres spread across the country to host most types of amusement that was then in vogue—including Vaudeville, silent movies, musical productions, and plays. The early vaudeville houses were designed and built without amplified sound, so that every seat was within 80 feet from the stage.
The Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit – Music, Song, Dance and Drama
With a polychrome terra cotta façade, the Palace’s sculpturor, Domingo Mora, created 4 figures which represented the 4 characteristics of Vaudeville– Music, Song, Dance and Drama.
The Palace theatre was the third Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. In the photo at the very top of this story, the Palace still bears the Orpheum name. Renamed the Palace Theater in 1926, it was a silent movie house, and subsequently added sound when the silent film era ended.
Featuring such Vaudeville greats as the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, Bob Hope, Al Jolson and Will Rogers, the Palace has a long and rich history
Lore is that when Harry Houdini performed his stage magic, and death-defying escapes, an ambulance was parked in front of the theater just in case.
One unique feature of the Palace was the Women’s Lounge:
It has glass doors that overlook the theatre entrance. In 1911 women were not permitted by custom to go to the theater unescorted. Women were also not permitted to travel with a young man without a chaperone. This room protects against these social pitfalls. The windows looking into the foyer were designed to help women watch for their dates. Source: Los Angeles Theatre
After several years of neglect, the Palace theatre finally called it quits, and closed in the late 1990s. However, sometimes its owners open it to occasionally accommodate tours, films, and guests.
Over the last few years, hints of a possible renovation have surfaced, but as of yet, no work has begun.
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