The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts.[1]
The Palace Theater's "house" is considered separate from LeVeque Tower, while the marquee and lobby are part of the LeVeque complex.
History
The Palace Theatre entrance at night
The Palace Theatre was designed by
Edward Albee of the Keith-Albee circuit. It opened in 1926 as the Keith-Albee Palace and featured live vaudeville along with silent feature films, an orchestra and "Miss Buckeye", a Style 260 3/16 Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ.[2]
The dressing room tower in the backstage area was designed as a small hotel, complete with a "front desk", where performers picked up their room keys and mail. Kitchen facilities and a children’s playroom were available. The dressing rooms are named after cities on the vaudeville touring routes. The under-stage room includes an animal shower and small sanitary stable, along with a ramp built for hoofed animals to help facilitate their transport to and from the stage during the Vaudeville era.[1]
In 1929, the Keith-Albee Palace was renamed the
Ohio Theatre. The Palace now hosts performances by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Jazz Arts Group, the Broadway Series, and scores of CAPA-sponsored shows.[1]
The Palace's Wurlitzer organ was removed in 1968 by the Central Ohio Theatre Organ Society “COTOS”. In 1976, COTOS formed an agreement with Worthington City Schools to install the organ inside the new Hottenroth Auditorium at Thomas Worthington High School in Worthington, Ohio. In 2022, Worthington voters passed a tax levy calling for the demolition & re-construction of Thomas Worthington High School. The organ, having sat dormant since COTOS dissolved almost a decade prior, was removed & placed in storage in May 2024 prior to the auditorium’s demolition, which was completed in August.
Media related to Palace Theatre (Columbus, Ohio) at Wikimedia Commons
City of Columbus, Ohio
