The Palace Theatre in Lockport, New York

The Palace Theatre in Lockport, New York was built by Charles Dickinson in 1925. The first movie ever played at the Palace was shown on July 25, 1925 and it was the 1923 Cecil B. Demille production of "The Ten Commandments."

Throughout its history the Palace Theatre has seen several sets of owners, and its own share of tragedy. In 1972, the gas line leading into the Palace exploded making the building unsafe for use. Elmer Granchelli and his company Granchelli Development purchased the damaged Palace and brought it back to life in 1974.

The Palace sits in the middle of downtown Lockport, New York on East Avenue directly across the street from the city's first post office, which is still used today as retail space. The design of the Palace was based on the Paramount Theatre in New York City with its spacious main seating area, upper balcony and the triple level loge balconies on either side of the seating area. Today the seating capacity is just over 1,000 people with the loge boxes not having any seating available.

The interior is decorated with Renaissance-style paintings consisting of elaborate designs and scenes that could appear in any church or cathedral. The art work is found on the walls and the ceilings of the seating area, along with thick theater curtains used to help contain the sound and keep out ambient light.

When asked who owns the Palace now, executive director Christopher Parada says that Lockport owns its historic theater. "The community of Lockport (owns the theater)", Parada points out. "There is no one owner."

There has been a great deal of work done to keep the Palace open, and Parada gives a list of just some of the recent renovations. "New roof, new heating and air conditioning system, new carpet, new bathrooms, new dressing rooms, theatre school, covered the balcony seats, new sound booth, new sound system, new lighting system, exterior pointing of bricks and new front doors" are just some of the renovations according to Parada.

In the 1940's and 1950's, the Palace was able to survive some stiff competition from the Rialto Theater in Lockport. The Palace survived because, as Parada points out, the Palace is "not just movies, but more of a play house." Live stage entertainment along with movie entertainment have been a staple of the Palace schedule since it opened.

Throughout its history the Palace has shown some of the greatest movies ever made, and it has played host to some famous names in live entertainment. Of all of the live entertainment that has played at the Palace Theatre Parada maintains that the most famous performer was the legendary John Philip Sousa.

The Palace continues to serve the community of Lockport, and survives thanks to donations from private citizens along with corporate and government grants. Executive Director Parada points to updating the electrical system and making updates to the interior paint work as just some of the things that will be done to keep the Palace open for years to come.

"Lockport Palace Theatre," LockportPalaceTheatre.com