Designed in the spirit of France’s Palais de Versailles, the 2,695-seat Palace Theatre is located at the base of the LeVeque-Lincoln Tower. Adorned with chandeliers, a grand staircase, mural, hall of autographed pictures, and a fountain, the Palace is a delightful destination for an evening with the arts. Originally a vaudeville house, special attention was paid to the theatre’s acoustics when it was built. Consequently, there’s not a bad seat in the house!
The Palace Theatre is located at 34 W. Broad Street between High and Front Streets, adjacent to the LeVeque Tower.
During the '30s, '40s, and '50s, the Palace was the most active venue in Columbus for live performances. Still popular today, the theatre rarely has a dark night. Among the many events hosted by the Palace each year are performances from CAPA-presented and touring musical artists, comedians, and dance companies, Broadway in Columbus, and local arts organizations.
Architect Thomas Lamb, who also designed the Ohio Theatre, used France’s Palais de Versailles as inspiration for the Palace Theatre. Since the theatre was primarily a vaudeville house, and the performers had to be heard without amplification, great attention was paid to the hall’s acoustics. Construction was personally supervised by vaudeville mogul Edward Albee, and on November 8, 1926, the Palace opened its doors to the public as part of the Keith-Albee chain of movie/vaudeville theatres. In 1929, the Palace became the RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum), which it remained until the 1970s.
Since traveling shows typically played for multiple days and sometimes weeks, the backstage area of the Palace Theatre was designed with the performers’ travel needs in mind. The dressing room tower was organized like a small hotel, complete with a "front desk," where performers could pick up their room keys and mail. There were also kitchen facilities and a designated children's playroom. The dressing rooms were named after cities on the vaudeville touring routes and still bear those names today.
Animals touring with the shows were also taken into consideration. A porcelain animal bath was installed below the stage, as well as a ramp that led to the stage since many animals will go upstairs, but not down.
Star Power
Over the years, most of the top names in entertainment have appeared at the Palace Theatre, including Bing Crosby, Nat "King" Cole, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Jackie Gleason, Jack Benny, Mae West, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Burns and Allen, Eddie Cantor, Bill Robinson, Glenn Miller, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Harpo and Chico Marx.
The CAPA Era
In 1989, CAPA acquired the Palace Theatre, consolidating its administrative functions with those of the Ohio Theatre, and today continues it's long tradition of presenting a large number of wide-ranging and diverse live stage performances each year.
