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 The
Palace Theater in Gary teeters on the brink. The building could be the catalyst
for revitalizing a neglected downtown corridor, or it could be the latest Gary
landmark destined for a landfill. With the blessing of Mayor Scott L. King,
preservationists putting together a plan for the 1925 Palace, but without money
the best intentions may not be enough to save the theater from the wrecking
ball.
The Palace opened at the corner of Broadway and Eighth Avenue in 1925 to fanfare
and accolades. Architect John Eberson, known for his famous “atmospheric”
theaters, designed the Palace. Atmospheric theaters surrounded patrons with
fanciful décor, designed to transport movie-goers to exotic locations, often
under an “open” evening sky. Eberson pulled out the stops at the Palace,
incorporating ornate light fixtures, velvet draperies, statuary and fountains
intended to suggest a European courtyard.
For more than 40 years, the Palace showed first-run movies fresh from debuts in
nearby Chicago. By the 1960s, declining ticket sales and occasional violence
were already pushing the Palace into decline. The owners finally closed the
doors in 1972. A succession of short-lived and ill-fated uses since then have
left the once-grand theater seriously dilapidated, a haven for vagrants, strewn
with drug paraphernalia.
The City of Gary announced plans to demolish the Palace sometime before year’s
end, citing a sagging wall as a danger to the public. A coalition of
preservationists including Historic Landmarks Foundation, the National Trust,
the state Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, and the League of
Historic American Theatres persuaded Mayor King to allow time for a feasibility
study. “We’d like to secure enough money to stabilize the theater and secure it
while we look for potential uses,” says Erica Taylor, Director of Historic
Landmarks’ Calumet Region Office.
The City is preparing a cost analysis for stabilizing the sagging south wall.
The preservation team has begun a search for funds to pay for stabilization and
a feasibility study. “The best case scenario would be a district revitalization
plan incorporating the Palace’s restoration,” says Taylor.
Source: Historic
Landmarks
Cinema
Treasures - Palace Theater
Historic Buildings of Indiana - Palace Theater
Historic Landmarks - Palace Theater
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