Palace Theater, Gary

The Palace Theater is a defunct movie and stage theater in Gary, Indiana. It was designed by the prodigious movie palace architect John Eberson in 1924 and opened a year later, featuring live stage shows, vaudeville acts, and eventually motion pictures.

History

Since the time of its construction, the theater was one of the grandest venues in the town, but when the US Steel plant in Gary went into decline, so did the rest of the town, including the historic theater. The theater slid into decline, and eventually shut down entirely in 1972.

The abandoned theater has since come to be a common symbol of urban decay, and is a frequent subject of photography and urban exploration. The exterior ornamentation has been largely picked away by scavengers, leaving gaping holes in the sides of the building.

In 1987, private investors planned to spend over $500,000 to renovate the theater and the nearby storefronts, but eventually abandoned the deal after the first restaurant opened was unsuccessful.

When the Miss USA pageant was held in Gary in 2002, Donald Trump renovated the front of the theater. The windows were painted to depict a false interior, and an external marquee was mounted, declaring "Jackson Five Tonite". Though the Jackson 5 are originally from Gary, they never actually performed in the Palace Theater.

References

* [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/3136/ Palace Theater] at CinemaTreasures.org
* [http://www.preserveindiana.com/pixpages/nw_ind/Palacetheatre.htm Palace Theater] at PreserveIndiana.com