Palace Theatre, Historic theatre in downtown Saint Paul, United States
The Palace Theatre is a 1916 Beaux-Arts theatre in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, designed by Buechner & Orth and now a live music venue. Its brick facade carries a vertical blade sign reading "PALACE ACE THEATRE" in red neon and a wide white marquee. Inside, the main floor was cleared of seats for general admission while the balcony's 725 seats were refurbished.
The Palace Theatre opened on November 27, 1916 as the New Palace, designed by Buechner & Orth in Beaux-Arts style and built with the St. Francis Hotel. It showed first-run films from the 1920s until closing in 1977 amid competition from multiplexes and television. The city bought it in 2015 and reopened it in 2017.
The Palace Theatre today serves as a concert venue where national and local artists perform on the same stage that once hosted vaudeville acts. The ornate plasterwork and original balconies give the room a character that feels different from a modern arena.
The theatre sits in downtown Saint Paul and is easy to reach on foot or by public transit from most central areas. It is worth checking the seating layout in advance, as the floor configuration can vary depending on the event.
Despite sitting empty for decades, much of the original plasterwork survived in good enough condition to be reused directly during the 2017 restoration. This means visitors today are looking at surfaces that date back to 1916, not reproductions.
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