Palace Theatre (Marion, Ohio)

Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre
	Marion Palace Theatre, Marion, Ohio
Address	233 West Center Street; Marion, Ohio; United States
Owner	Palace Cultural Arts Association
Type	Movie Palace atmospheric theatre
Capacity	1,440
Current use	Movie theatre and performing arts center
Construction
Opened	August 30, 1928
Rebuilt	1975–1976; 2015
Architect	John Eberson
Website
	www.marionpalace.org
	Marion Palace Theatre
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	40°35′19″N 83°8′01″W / 40.58861°N 83.13361°W
Built	1928
Architectural style	Late 19th and 20th century Spanish Revival, atmospheric theatre
NRHP reference No.	76001486
Added to NRHP	March 26, 1976

The Marion Palace Theatre is a movie palace constructed in 1928 in Marion, Ohio, United States for the Young Amusement Company. The original cost of the project was $500,000 ($7.5 million in 2021 dollars). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its significance to the atmospheric theatre architectural style popular in the United States during the 1920s.

The theatre opened on August 30, 1928, becoming the company's tenth theatre.^[2] A movie palace, it was one of the last to be built in the atmospheric theatre style in the United States.^[3] In addition to motion pictures and newsreels, the theatre also booked vaudeville and legitimate theatre, although vaudeville had declined in popularity by the time the theatre opened.^[4]

It is located at the corner of West Center Street and Campbell Street, on two former residential lots. The site was initially owned by the Campbell family, early Marion settlers. The lot slopes to the west, causing the stage to be below grade level on the east and at grade level on the west. The east lot was vacant at the time of construction, while the west lot had a residential house, which was razed. Over time, additional land was secured and added to the complex.

In 1975, the theatre was sold to the Palace Cultural Arts Association, a nonprofit organization, and renovated. The Palace remains open today as a movie and performing arts center, and is one of 16 atmospheric theatres designed by John Eberson that remain in operation as theatres in the United States.^[5]

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Motion Picture News, January 7, 1928, 16; Marion Star, August 29, 1928; Hoffman, Scott L. A Theatre History of Marion, Ohio: John Eberson's Palace and Beyond. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2015, 26-36. ISBN 978-1-62619-950-7
^ Williams, Celeste M., and Dietmar E. Froehlich. "John Eberson and the Development of the Movie Theater: Fantasy and Escape." in Contribution and Confusion: Architecture and the Influence of Other Fields of Inquiry. Paper presented at 91st ACSA International Conference, Helsinki. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2004.
^ Kibler, M. A. (1992). "The Keith/Albee Collection: The Vaudeville Industry, 1894–1935". Books at Iowa 56. The University of Iowa. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
^ Hoffman, 2015, p. 67.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[2] Motion Picture News, January 7, 1928, 16; Marion Star, August 29, 1928; Hoffman, Scott L. A Theatre History of Marion, Ohio: John Eberson's Palace and Beyond. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2015, 26-36. ISBN 978-1-62619-950-7

[3] Williams, Celeste M., and Dietmar E. Froehlich. "John Eberson and the Development of the Movie Theater: Fantasy and Escape." in Contribution and Confusion: Architecture and the Influence of Other Fields of Inquiry. Paper presented at 91st ACSA International Conference, Helsinki. Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2004.

[baikibler-4] Kibler, M. A. (1992). "The Keith/Albee Collection: The Vaudeville Industry, 1894–1935". Books at Iowa 56. The University of Iowa. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

[5] Hoffman, 2015, p. 67.

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