174 Comments for Palace Theater

Not ribbons, 35mm Film

It is really sad because 99% of these buildings are so beautiful. Gary could be such a beautiful city! So many cities could be beautiful people have lost sight of what is important......humans lack pride.

Wow, I didn't know about the light bulbs, that's pretty amazing! Thank you for posting your memories.

Movies changed every Friday. Thursday night we had to carry the cans containing the next weeks movies to the projection booth. They were heavy and it seemed like a long way up there.

Speaking of dressing up. I was the head usher(chief of service) wore tux. Other ushers had uniforms cleaned every week, inspections every Sat., military style,shined shoes etc.

Worked here as usher in 56&57;. That is a ladder. We climbed that ladder to change light bulbs that simulated twinkling stars. There was an organ that came from a pit below. I have many great memories of the palace. Thanks for these photos and the trip down memory lane.

I use to go to the Palace as I grew up near Gary. It was absolutely beautiful, so sad to see what's become of it as well as the city itself. :(

Glance quickly at the interior of this theater, and then away. With the flood of light from open doors, the scene could be one of re-construction or destruction. The "abandoned" places that hover between such time lines are the most fascinating. This fine shot is a perfect examplt.

Very beginning of Phantom of the opera. Problem with a piano in this type of situation is with the sound(ing) board. At this point it is warped from the water and probably broken from the fall when the orchestra pit collapsed. The ivories still look good and might be salvageable. Piano repair people declare them DOA when the sounding board is damaged. So I am just going to think of it as a cheap piano that was damaged before it was abandoned. Denial is good.

Amazing!

Most of the photos are lit by natural sunlight, as the fire exit doors were all wide open. If they've been closed, the theater space will certainly be really dark.

Did you bring lighting with you? Or is it the lens that captures light? I was there last weekend and it was spooky dark. Couldn't get past the front of the first floor.

The second floor is there - it's across the way, and wraps around to the right. The wall on the left is confusing; in the historic photos, it looks like it extends beyond the columns, but it was always a wall. The removal of the three-dimensional plasterwork makes it look even more flat.

I'm confused..the way I'm looking at it, the whole second floor was removed? How do you do that?

People really are pathetic, aren't they?