We were talking on Friday about the original Palace Theatre on Ouellette Ave. The following photos were forwarded to me by Darren at artwindsor.org, who took them from his apartment at the Royal Windsor Terrace where he lived at the time.
The theatre was opened in 1920, as the Allen Theatre, which was a chain across Canada and the USA in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s. It was designed by Detroit architect C. Howard Crane, who designed all of the Allen Theatres across North America. In 1924, the name was changed from the Allen to the Palace. The theatre closed at the end of 1985, as can be seen on the marquee above. It was demolished in January 1986, and Palace v. 2.0 was built in its place. In later years it was owned by Famous Players, who closed it down in the late 1990’s early 2000’s. It has since been purchased and reopened as an independent cinema.
thanks for posting this. i wish i took more photos around town back then like you do now. the city really has changed in just the last 20 years.
I remember going to see “Treasure Island” and “The Scarecrow” at the Palace when I was in grade 1 or 2. It looked like a dump from the outside but once I got in I couldn’t believe how big and fancy the theater was inside. It reminded me of an opera house.
I wish you would have too 🙂
It sure has changed even in the last 5 years.
Thanks again for sharing these with us.
I still have a lot of photos I can send you that i took from the roof of the RWT. maybe i will send them tomorrow. they’re scans of slides since i shot kodachrome 64 back then. unfortunately i was so depressed around 1986 so i threw out so many of my slides and negs. : (
And don’t forget who owns that lovely piece of land now!!! LOL!!! could it be….MADY?!
How true Sammy, my best pal. Rumor on the street has it that they aren’t fans of this blog…
Yeah, I don’t think you’ll be getting a Christmas card from him, Andrew. 😉
Remember Palace V2 was built at the height of the Garth Drabinsky era at Cineplex-Odeon–remember the 80s vibe in that place?…complete with that big mosaic painting over the escalator well.
I went to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight at the Palace when I was in highschool in the 1980’s.
wow! the old palace! i wonder if it was sold to cineplex odeon in 1985, before expanding and when did the odeon theatre open, when did the vanity close?
if i could go back in time, i’d see…paul mccartney’s give my regards to broad street.
this is amazing. never knew famous players owned the palace.
i wonder when the vanity closed–and when the forest glade and odeon theatre opened…
I worked there as an usher after the big theatre chain left and it was a repertory cinema. Showed a lot of rock films, docs, independent/art films, canadian films, second run classics. Used to open the balconey for my friends so we could party up during the films. Saw “The Wall” on acid. Those were fun times.
I’d love to see some interior pictures of this building. Last night I went downtown to see the final Saturday night screening at the Palace (Jan 7, 2012). The current Palace neon sign appears to be the orginal …. Last night I took a few pictures of the current building, though not an architectural gem, losing it is yet another sad end to an era in downtown Windsor
Hey good eye on those “Palace” signs Chris! I never noticed that.
I hope they are saved, if only to pay tribute to the 90+ years of service this theater has given to so many in this city.