The Palace Theater is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theatre. In some cases it refers to a single multi-use s ...

Luverne, Minnesota Luverne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rock County, Minnesota, United States, along the Rock River (Big Sioux River), Rock River. The population was 4,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Luverne is part of the Sioux Falls ...

. Located downtown, it is owned by the city of Luverne and operated by the Blue Mound Area Theatre Board of Directors. The theater offers live events, movies, concerts, live theater, seminars, and performances by the Green Earth Players. The 550-seat theater was built in 1915, as a venue for

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s, and

live theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

. It was constructed in 1915 by architect W.E.E. Greene for owners Herman and Maude Jochims. Much of the theater remains original, including the painted wall panels, stage curtains, and the stylistic wall and ceiling decor. The Palace has its original

theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...

, made by the Geneva Organ Company. The organ was installed in 1926 to provide accompanying music for the silent movies. The organ has recently been restored, and is one of only a few theater organs that remain where first installed. In addition, it is the oldest working theater organ of its make and model in the United States. The second story of the building was designed and used as a ballroom. It was later turned into an apartment for the Jochims. It now houses many pictures and pieces of furniture from the original Palace Theater. The Palace Theatre was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on November 19, 1978.

References

External links

Official Site
* {{YouTube, 2j3P40Ut2A4, News story on the history and renovation of the Palace Theater Theatres in Minnesota Theatres completed in 1915 Event venues established in 1915 Performing arts centers in Minnesota Theatres of the silent film era Music venues in Minnesota 1915 establishments in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Rock County, Minnesota