Books by
Michael Barr
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Texas
| Columns
Looking back
at:
Marking Time
at the Palace Theatre
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The
Palace Theatre marked time in Fredericksburg
for most of the 20th Century. The grand old movie house was a part
of the fabric of the community.
In 1926 John Stahl, operator of the Palace Theatre in New
Braunfels, purchased Klaerner's Opera house, Dance Hall and Confectionary
on Main Street in Fredericksburg.
The new owner brought in chairs and a screen and converted the opera
house into a movie theatre.
One of the earliest films shown at Stahl's Palace Theatre in Fredericksburg
was a Harold Lloyd silent comedy called Hot Water, but two-reel
westerns, called "oaters," were crowd favorites. Early westerns shown
at the Palace included The Flying Horseman starring Buck Jones,
Man in the Saddle starring Hoot Gibson, Faye Wray and Boris
Karloff and Somewhere in Sonora starring Ken Maynard.
1928 Stahl, announced plans to build a new Palace Theatre on the site
of the old one. Demolition began in the summer of 1929. During construction,
Stahl showed his movies in a rented building on Llano Street.
The
new theatre opened December 23, 1929, four weeks after the stock market
crash. The building, with Art Deco-style front, had the latest bells
and whistles including a "Movietone" projection system. Movietone
was a technique that recorded sound directly on the film, insuring
that the moving pictures and the sound were always in sync.
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Palace Theatre
in Fredericksburg
Photo
courtesy Michael
Barr, February 2018 |
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Equipped with
Movietone, the Palace could show 'talkies" although many people
believed talking pictures were a fad that wouldn't last.
The first film at the new Palace was Sweetie, a talkie, starring
Jack Oakey and Helen Kane the "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" girl.
In the 1930s and 40s many children in Fredericksburg
belonged to the Popeye Club, named after the cartoon character Popeye
the Sailor. Members could see a movie, usually starring Shirley
Temple, every Saturday morning for 10 cents.
The Palace presented live performances as well as movies. On January
28, 1930, legendary singer Jimmy Rodgers played the Palace.
In the summer of 1948, the Palace hosted the Hill Country Jamboree,
broadcast live on KNAF 1340. Acts included The Texas Tune Wranglers,
The Singing Waiters and The Nebgen Sisters.
Marty Robbins chose the Palace as the site for the state premier
of his movie Ballad of a Gunfighter on September 6, 1963.
On December 10, 1963 the Palace hosted a live folk music show called
a Hootenanny, sponsored by the Jaycees with proceeds to help needy
children at Christmas. Several acts cancelled, including the Red
River Ramblers and The Night Riders citing the recent assassination
of President Kennedy.
For years city officials announced the winner of the First Baby
of the Year contest from the stage at the Palace. It seems the tradition
started in March 1928 when the Palace began showing photographs
of local newborn babies on the big screen. The audience voted on
the cutest baby. First prize was $5 in gold.
Over the years
the Palace hosted community events, town meetings and concerts.
The Palace was a precinct polling place for city, county, state
and national elections.
You
could witness the changing tastes of America by the kind of movies
shown at the Palace.
Abbott and Costello, Westerns and Disney animated movies dominated
the 1950s.
The Three Stooges,
Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley, James Bond and beach movies were popular
in the early 60s.
In the late 60s, Holly wood began making movies with more provocative
content. Fredericksburg
wasn't always comfortable with the trend.
On May 18, 1971 local law enforcement officers confiscated the movie,
No Blade of Grass, shown the night before at the Palace,
after parents complained of its language and risqué subject matter.
Over time, people in Fredericksburg
forged lifelong relationships at the Palace. Couples went to the
Palace on their first date. Parents took their children. Grandparents
took grandchildren.
Then changing economics caused the Palace to close in 2000.
Now there is a new movie house with a bar, seats as comfortable
as my recliner, rip-roaring audio-visuals and other amazing amenities.
I have good memories of the Palace although I wonder how I was able
to sit through a whole movie without a glass of wine.
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© Michael
Barr
"Hindsights"
February 15, 2018 Column
Sources:
"New Management," Fredericksburg Standard, June 12, 1926.
"Proposed Theater Building," Fredericksburg Standard, August 25, 1928.
"Announcement!" Fredericksburg Standard, June 15, 1929.
"New Palace Opens," Fredericksburg Standard, December 21, 1929.
"Jimmie Rodgers on Palace Program," Fredericksburg Standard, January
25, 1930.
"Marty Robbins Movie Texas Premier At The Palace," Fredericksburg
Standard, August 28, 1963.
"Jaycees Hootenanny Show Dec. 3," Fredericksburg Standard, November
27, 1963.
"Movie Film Is Confiscated By Officers," Fredericksburg Standard,
May 26, 1971. |
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