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Downtown St. Paul will add another jewel to its cultural crown soon and what's old is new again as the Palace Theatre is soon to re-open, for the first time since 1984, on 7th Place, a pedestrian-only block in the heart of the city center.
To give the public an idea of their progress and to show off the 2,800-capacity concert venue the city purchased (for $325,000 with another $15mil+ put into renovations), a brief open house was scheduled. In addition to remarks by Mayor (and now gubernatorial candidate) Chris Coleman, and Q+A from some of the builders, a brief surprise set from singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith serenaded visitors sipping on free hot chocolate during their self-guided tours.
The building’s history dates back to 1916 as the New Palace Theatre, built on the site of the old St. Paul Public Library which burned down a couple years earlier. After transforming into a vaudeville house and several movie theater incarnations, it closed in 1977, opening only briefly again in 1984.
Booked and operated by a collaboration of First Avenue and Jam Productions, the venue expects to host around fifty events annually, and will be used during the day by nearby McNally Smith College of Music as a learning tool for students to know box office, staging, and venue operations.
With a capacity almost double that of First Avenue’s Mainroom (800 seated in balcony/2000 on GA floor), many of the amenities in the venue were modernized, including new bathrooms, HVAC system, roof, and terraced bar area with good sightlines from the floor.
Many of the historic aesthetics of the building have been preserved as an architectural decision, so random holes in the walls, unfinished ceilings, and partially gone cornices, will apparently be part of the finished design. This already has opinions on both sides, both positive from the preservationists, and negative from those who don’t care for the exposed areas, but we’ll reserve final judgement until the venue is considered finished, and open for business.
The first concert announced is pianist Regina Spektor on March 26th, with others to be announced soon and local station The Current has already sponsored short mini-sets by local artists (available on YouTube), and audio quality in the theater seems reasonable, with additional sound dampeners yet to be installed.
Another concert venue in the metro is always welcome (especially on the St. Paul side, which has been lacking) and it seems like a unique mix of old and new venue in which to experience a concert, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing a show soon at the old but new, Palace Theatre.
To give the public an idea of their progress and to show off the 2,800-capacity concert venue the city purchased (for $325,000 with another $15mil+ put into renovations), a brief open house was scheduled. In addition to remarks by Mayor (and now gubernatorial candidate) Chris Coleman, and Q+A from some of the builders, a brief surprise set from singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith serenaded visitors sipping on free hot chocolate during their self-guided tours.
The building’s history dates back to 1916 as the New Palace Theatre, built on the site of the old St. Paul Public Library which burned down a couple years earlier. After transforming into a vaudeville house and several movie theater incarnations, it closed in 1977, opening only briefly again in 1984.
Booked and operated by a collaboration of First Avenue and Jam Productions, the venue expects to host around fifty events annually, and will be used during the day by nearby McNally Smith College of Music as a learning tool for students to know box office, staging, and venue operations.
With a capacity almost double that of First Avenue’s Mainroom (800 seated in balcony/2000 on GA floor), many of the amenities in the venue were modernized, including new bathrooms, HVAC system, roof, and terraced bar area with good sightlines from the floor.
Many of the historic aesthetics of the building have been preserved as an architectural decision, so random holes in the walls, unfinished ceilings, and partially gone cornices, will apparently be part of the finished design. This already has opinions on both sides, both positive from the preservationists, and negative from those who don’t care for the exposed areas, but we’ll reserve final judgement until the venue is considered finished, and open for business.
The first concert announced is pianist Regina Spektor on March 26th, with others to be announced soon and local station The Current has already sponsored short mini-sets by local artists (available on YouTube), and audio quality in the theater seems reasonable, with additional sound dampeners yet to be installed.
Another concert venue in the metro is always welcome (especially on the St. Paul side, which has been lacking) and it seems like a unique mix of old and new venue in which to experience a concert, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing a show soon at the old but new, Palace Theatre.
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Palace Theatre, St. Paul (16 Dec 2016) |