Historic Palace Theatre In Greensburg Celebrating 90 Years
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- The grand old Palace Theatre in Greensburg is getting a touch-up to celebrate its 90th anniversary.
Mike Langer, of the Westmoreland Community Trust, has helped raised more than $10 million to keep it open.
"We had over 75,000 people come in the last year, had over 113 shows, 40-some special events," he says. "When you put that many people through a building that was built in 1926, you can imagine there's going to be some wear and tear."
The French Renaissance-style hasn't changed much since the Manos family built the theater.
"The staircase is Vermont marble, but the balustrade is Grecian marble from the Keros Islands of the Manos family homeland," says the theater's operations director, Teresa Baughman.
She says there are many unusual touches, like a goldfish pond of mosaic tile, currently empty.
Seating has dropped from 2,100 at its peak to 1,369, largely due to wider bodies.
Pointing out a mural, the operations director says, "This is one of three murals by Louis Grell, a Chicago-based artist who did three murals in the theater, two of which the Cultural Trust has restored."
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The Palace Theatre welcomes guests, performers, and employees of the past to share their memories through email or written correspondence. That's a lot of people.
"It's been a part of generations of families that came here 20, 30 years ago, and more," Teresa Baughman says. "Their parents have come, they're coming, they're bringing their children now. It's really a big part of the community."