The Palace Theatre in Greensburg is giving free behind-the-scene tours
On Friday and Saturday this weekend, The Palace Theatre in Greensburg will lift the veil of secrecy on one of the region's hottest performing arts locations by giving free behind-the-scenes tours.
Teresa Baughman, the interim CEO of the Westmorland Cultural Trust, says that what you get to see and learn on these tours is pretty cool.
"It has so much history, built in 1926," said Baughman. "The Manos Family had a chain of theatres throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and even into other neighboring states, more than 150 at the height of their business."
The Manos name can still be seen on the building and back then, just like today, the Manos Theatre in Greensburg was one of western Pennsylvania's premiere movie and live performance venues. The Manos kept showing films there until the 1970s, but when suburban multiplexes became all the rage, no one saw a need for a big downtown movie house. It was almost curtains for this theatre had two local entrepreneurs not stepped in.
"Carl Marinelli and his business partner bought the theatre," Baughman said. "But she sold back her share just within a year. So, it was Judy Marinelli and her husband Carl that owned the theatre from '78 until after his death in 1990."
It was actually Judy Marinelli who came up with the name, "The Palace" because she said that's what the space reminded her of, a palace with beautiful architecture and all the fairy tale murals. And from there, the Palace picked up where the Manos left off, doing movies and live performances with some pretty big names.
"We have had all sorts of top acts like The Doobie Brothers and Foreigner and country stars from Vince Gill and Travis Tritt, comedians like George Carlin and Craig Ferguson. I think it was an honor for us to host the Dalai Lama years ago."
And that is just a small sample of some of the famous names and acts to grace The Palace stage over the years. Since the Westmoreland Cultural Trust took over the space in the 90s, they have not only continued booking big acts, but they have spearheaded millions of dollars in renovations. Baughman says that this theatre, which hosts over 100 events and shows to over 85,000 people each year, has an enduring legacy in Greensburg.
"I think the legacy of The Palace Theatre, after all these years of entertainment, is just to continue providing quality entertainment for folks."
Free history tours of the space are Friday, Sept. 8 at noon and Saturday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. For more information, visit thepalacetheatre.org.