Former names | Palace Theatre Morris Civic Auditorium |
---|---|
Address | 211 N. Michigan St. South Bend, Indiana United States |
Owner | City of South Bend |
Operator | Morris Entertainment, Inc. |
Type | Vaudeville house |
Capacity | 2,564 |
Current use | Performing arts center |
Construction | |
Opened | 1922 |
Reopened | March 3, 2000 |
Website | |
www | |
Palace Theatre | |
Coordinates | 41°40′42″N86°15′2″W / 41.67833°N 86.25056°W |
Area | Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Architect | J.S. Aroner; Ralph Sollitt Co. |
Architectural style | Spanish Renaissance Revival |
MPS | Downtown South Bend Historic MRA |
NRHP reference No. | 85001226 [1] |
Added to NRHP | June 5, 1985 |
Morris Performing Arts Center (originally Palace Theatre and formerly Morris Civic Auditorium) is a 2,564-seat concert hall located in South Bend, Indiana. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later became a movie palace. It was developed along with the neighboring Palais Royale Building by the Palace Theater Corporation. It is a four- to five-story, rectangular, Spanish Renaissance Revival style brick building with finely crafted terra cotta ornamentation. It was planned for demolition in 1959 but was saved from demolition, and between 1998 and 2000, it was restored and remodeled. [2] : 51
Morris Performing Arts Center's interior has a rose, blue and cream color scheme, as when it opened. The theater stage measures 56 feet by 57 feet and contains a red and gold main curtain dating from the 2000 restoration. The theater is home to the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and hosts Broadway shows, concerts, and other special events, including Marian High School's annual commencement ceremony. The theater's interior borrowed from European architectural styles. [3] More than half of the seats at the center, 1,282, are in the balcony, with the remainder in the lower level.
In 1985, the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It qualified for historic designation because of its place in the region's history and because of its historically significant architecture. [1]
In 2022, the theater celebrated its 100th year, and on November 2 of that year, a documentary commemorating the anniversary aired on the local PBS affiliate, WNIT-TV. [4]
The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.
The Victory Theatre is a 1,950-seat venue in Evansville, Indiana. It is home to the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and also hosts local ballet and modern dance companies, theatre companies, and touring productions.
John Adolph Emil Eberson was an Austrian-American architect best known for the development and promotion of movie palace designs in the atmospheric theatre style. He designed over 500 theatres in his lifetime, earning the nickname "Opera House John". His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre Marion (1928), Palace Theatre Louisville (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Akron Civic Theatre (1929), the Paramount Theatre (1929), the State Theater 1927, and the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater (1932) at Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts. Remaining international examples in the atmospheric style include both the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) in Sydney, Australia, The Forum and Le Grand Rex.
The Madam C. J. Walker Building, which houses the Madam Walker Legacy Center, was built in 1927 in the city of Indianapolis, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and as Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The four-story, multi-purpose Walker Building was named in honor of Madam C. J. Walker, the African American hair care and beauty products entrepreneur who founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, and designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of Rubush & Hunter. The building served as the world headquarters for Walker's company, as well as entertainment, business, and commercial hub along Indiana Avenue for the city's African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. The historic gathering place and venue for community events and arts and cultural programs were saved from demolition in the 1970s. The restored building, which includes African, Egyptian, and Moorish designs, is one of the few remaining African-Art Deco buildings in the United States. The Walker Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.
The Saenger Theatre is a historic theater and contributing building to the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District in Mobile, Alabama. It was dedicated in January 1927. The Saenger Theatre is a Mobile landmark, known for its architecture and ties to local cultural history. The theater has been completely renovated in recent years with an upgraded electrical system, VIP facilities, new stage rigging and sound system. It is the official home of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and also serves as the venue for movie festivals, concerts, lectures and special events.
The Indiana Theatre is a multiple use performing arts venue located at 140 W. Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was built as a movie palace and ballroom in 1927 and today is the home of the Indiana Repertory Theatre. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District.
Golden Gate Theater is a California Churrigueresque-style movie palace built in 1927 on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, California. In 1982, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater closed in 1986; the retail building built around it was damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and demolished in 1992. The remaining theater building was left vacant for more than 20 years as preservationists fought with owners and developers over the future of the building. It was finally converted into a drugstore and reopened in 2012.
The Majestic Theatre is a performing arts theater in the City Center District of Downtown Dallas. It is the last remnant of Theater Row, the city's historic entertainment center on Elm Street, and is a contributing property in the Harwood Street Historic District. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Knights of Pythias Lodge is a historic Knights of Pythias building located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built in 1922, and is a seven-story, Commercial style brick building with terra cotta. The building features applied Classical Revival style design elements.
Knights of Columbus-South Bend Indiana Club is a historic Knights of Columbus building located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. It was built in 1924, and is a three-story, Renaissance Revival style brick and terra cotta building. The building features round arched windows with radiating voussoirs of brick and terra cotta.
The I & M Building, also known as Colfax Place, is a historic building located at 220 W. Colfax in South Bend, Indiana. It is located next to the Commercial Building. The building, which was built in 1929, originally housed the offices of the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company. The Art Deco building was designed by Austin & Shambleau. The seven-story building is faced in marble on its front first story, limestone on the remainder of its front, and brick on its sides. Terra cotta separates the building's front center windows through the fifth story, while stone with terra cotta features separate the side windows. The building is one of the few Art Deco structures in South Bend and the only "pure" example of the style within its downtown business district.
The First Presbyterian Church at 101 S. Lafayette in South Bend, Indiana is a former Presbyterian church building of First Presbyterian Church. It was built in 1888 and is a Richardsonian Romanesque style building constructed of fieldstonewith limestone trim. It has a cross-gable roof and features arched entrances, a massive Palladian window of stained glass, and a corner bell tower.
The Indiana Theatre is a historic theater in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1997 and is located in the Wabash Avenue-East Historic District. It opened on January 28, 1922. The theatre was built by Terre Haute resident T. W. Barhydt and was designed by John Eberson. Eberson, who later developed the atmospheric theater style of movie palace, first experimented with atmospheric design elements at the theatre. Eberson stated, "Into this Indiana Theatre I have put my very best efforts and endeavors in the art of designing a modern theatre such as I have often pictured as what I would do were I given a free hand." Through this quote Eberson suggests that the Indiana Theatre embodies the raw beginning of his experiment with a "dream" theater that marked the beginning shift to his atmospheric style.
Colfax Theater was a historic theater building in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built in 1928, and was a two-story, irregularly shaped brick building with a glazed terra cotta facade. The auditorium seated 2,000 patrons. The second story featured a multi-paned Palladian window. It was demolished in 1991 to accommodate an expansion of the neighboring South Bend Tribune.
Blackstone-State Theater is a historic theatre building located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built in 1919, and is a four-story, Classical Revival style brick and terra cotta building. The first floor has four storefronts and the theatre entrance. The upper floors form a loggia that rises to the fourth floor and supported by four pairs of fluted columns. The theater originally sat 2,500 patrons.
W. N. Bergan–J. C. Lauber Company Building is a historic manufacturing complex located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. The original Bergan Building was built in 1882, and is a two-story, Italianate style brick industrial building. It features an ornate cornice and frieze. Also on the property are two one-story contributing brick buildings. The buildings have housed the J. C. Lauber Sheet Metal Company, Inc. since 1900. The company produced much of the sheet metal and roofing for buildings in early-20th-century South Bend. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Palais Royale Building, also known as the Lippman Building, is a historic commercial building located in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built in 1922 along with the neighboring Palace Theater by the Palace Theater Corporation. It is a three-story, rectangular, Spanish Renaissance Revival-style brick building with finely crafted terra cotta ornamentation. It features a series of monumental semi-elliptical arched windows. The interior originally housed a two-story ballroom. A bombing on January 10, 1935, blew out most of the storefront windows and destroyed the corner suite.
Mars Theatre is a historic theatre building in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. It was built in 1921, and is a four-story, rectangular, Georgian Revival style brick building, with limestone ornamentation and terra cotta panels. It measures 69 feet, 4 inches, wide and 141 feet, 4 inches deep. It was originally built as a vaudeville theater and sat 1,205 patrons. The building houses the Denis H. Long Center for the Performing Arts.
The Morris Inn at Notre Dame is a Gothic Revival-style hotel owned by the University of Notre Dame and located on the school's campus in Notre Dame, Indiana.