Louisville Palace Theatre
625 S. 4th Street, Louisville, KY, USA
Seats (approximate)
2623
ABOUT THIS THEATRE
Description
For years the heart of Louisville's downtown commercial district was Fourth Street. Shopping and dining were wonderful, and there wasn't a better way to end the day than taking in a movie at one of the gorgeous theatres--the Rialto, the Kentucky, the Ohio, the Mary Anderson or any of the other movie houses. The most beautiful of these theatres, and only one of two that survived urban renewal, is The Louisville Palace (formerly the United Artists Theatre). Its a treasure to generations of Louisvillians.
The Louisville Palace is located on the east side of Fourth Street between Broadway and Chestnut. This location is convenient to the city's finest hotels and restaurants. Designed by noted architect John Eberson, the theatre opened at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, September 1, 1928 at a purported cost of over two million dollars--a whole lot of money in those days. Although its facade is dynamic in appearance, it doesn't provide a clue as to the immensity and spectacular design of the interior of the theatre. Upon entering the lobby and grand foyer, the Spanish Baroque motif begins its development. Cobalt blue, bursts of red and gold indirectly light all of the niches, coves and entrances. Above the Spanish treasures there is a curved, vaulted ceiling with 139 carvings of the eternal greats. In a central portion one finds plaster busts of Socrates, Beethoven, Dante and even John Eberson himself! In any direction there is something magnificent to please the eye and spark the imagination.