Palace Theatre (Monroe Avenue)

02 / The story of this place

Make time for these

The Palace was the last and largest vaudeville house built on Monroe Avenue, Detroit's first entertainment district, replacing an early nickelodeon called the Alhambra. C. Howard Crane called it the acme of his work so far: it had polychrome terra cotta, murals by John W. Flanders, a Welte organ imported from Germany and 23 exits, and was advertised as the safest theater in the world. It opened on February 16, 1914, with continuous vaudeville and films from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. It was an alley-jumper, reaching its auditorium by a ramp over the alley. On February 5, 1928, it turned to burlesque as the House of Jazz, hosted the Mutual Burlesque circuit in 1929 and ended as a movie house around May 1931. The auditorium was demolished in 1934.

• The acme of Crane's work, in his own words
• 23 exits: the safest theater in the world
• A Welte organ imported from Germany

Plan your visit

The Palace auditorium was demolished in 1934. For a show downtown today, see the working theatres in our guide.