The Palace Theatre: Breathing New Life Into the Past

In 2019, PACE Downtown purchased a 15,600 sqft building, located at 37 - 41 Salem St, that was once known as The Palace Theatre. This extensive three-year undertaking is PACE’s largest project to date.

History of Theatre

The Palace Theatre opened Feb. 18, 1924, by John W. Prevo and Charles F. Finch, the theater seated 1,000 people, 500 in the auditorium and 500 in the balcony. It hosted live shows along with movies.  Acts included comedians, music, drama, and jugglers. The theater unfortunately closed on Jan. 3, 1959, and in 1960, it was remodeled by owner Harry B. Finch. The renovation converted the theater into spaces for businesses, and was occupied for many decades until the decline of Downtown businesses began in the early + mid-2000s. The building sat empty for almost 10 years before we purchased it.

Throughout our restoration journey, we learned a lot about this hidden gem of Downtown, however there is still much mystery as to why the original facade was stripped away. It is to our knowledge that it was still an active theatre at the time of the removal.

If you or someone you know has any additional information about the theatre we would love to add this to our story. Please email us: pacethomasville@gmail.com

Phase one:
The Removal

One of our first big efforts was to remove the 60-year old metal facade that was covering the building. We assumed that what was underneath resembled the beautiful architecture seen in all the archival photographs, however that was not the case. This is when we realized that those features were long-gone, so we had to get creative how to revive + reinvent.

phase two:
Plans fit for a king…

In 2020, like everything, COVID put a halt to our efforts. This gave us time to figure out how to bring life back to this building without breaking the bank. After some back and forth we came to an agreement that the building needed dimension. Together we worked with Burton Builders, to mimic the architectural features that once made the Palace Theatre breathtaking. These features were constructed out of styrofoam and then painted with stucco to withstand the test of time. During this phase, we also replaced the roof and installed all new windows.

Once the shape of the facade was finished we wanted to take it to the next step and have local artist, Jeff Beck, paint faux architectural features.

The finished product

We have loved and enjoyed bringing life back into this iconic building. Now we look forward to seeing what the future holds for our beloved Palace Theatre.

If you or someone you know has any additional information about the theatre we would love to add this to our story. Please email us: pacethomasville@gmail.com