The Palace Theatre is a 1920s-era

movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is a large, elaborately decorated movie theater built from the 1910s to the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. Wi ...

in the village of Eastwood in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. It has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 80 years.

History

The Palace was built in 1922 by local businessman Alfred DiBella. The theater featured 1300 seating, a second floor dining and dance ballroom. After Alfred died in 1959, ownership was transferred to his daughter, Frances DiBella, who was behind the

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a Cash register#Cash drawer, drawer fo ...

or the

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

counter nearly every night for more than fifty years. On her death on April 26, 2004, ownership passed to her nephew, Michael Heagerty, who embarked on an extensive renovation of the theatre including opening The Palace Café next door (which has since been closed). Until the doors shut for renovation in 2004, the theatre had reputedly never been closed for more than a week during its entire history. Renovations included the installation of a digital

high-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines ( ...

system, Dolby Surround Sound, and

laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

presentation capability with the largest computer graphic projection in

Central New York The central region of New York state includes: * Auburn in Cayuga County * Cortland in Cortland County * Oneida in Madison County * Syracuse, the largest city of Central New York, in Onondaga County * Fulton and Oswego in Oswego County ...

. Despite a temporary setback due to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

soon after it reopened, the theatre is presently a lively venue for current and classic movies, meetings, parties, speeches, live concerts, lectures, benefits, and other community events. Syracuse Mayor Matthew Driscoll delivered his 2005 "State of the City" address at The Palace, and it hosts an annual B-Movie Film Festival that draws attendees from all over the world. The Palace has been independently owned and operated throughout its history. It is one of three independent movie theatres in Syracuse; the others are the Hollywood in the hamlet of Mattydale near the Syracuse airport; and the Manlius Art Cinema in Manlius.

References

External links

Palace Theatre home page
Concert halls in New York (state) Theatres in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Syracuse, New York Culture of Syracuse, New York Tourist attractions in Syracuse, New York {{US-theat-struct-stub