Family Entertainment Comes Full Circle as Benton County Reopens the Palace Theater
by Julie Zimmer

Like Rip VanWinkle, Vinton's Palace Theater is about to awaken from long sleep. The dreams it provoked in it's first life were many and varied, and a second life promises a host of new memories for a whole new generation. Benton County history comes full circle this year as the building is renovated, reopened, and returned to its original purposes. Opera Houses Pave the Way for Silent Movies The Palace wasn't the community's first theater. The Crescent Opera House stood, for a time, at the corner of A Avenue and Fifth Street (then known as Beckett and Concord streets). The Watson Opera House, built in 1873, seated 800 patrons and "compared favorably to any opera house in Iowa." Located on the corner across the street and to the west of the Palace location today, it replaced an earlier, more modest Watson hall which burned. The walls and ceilings of the new (Watson) second-floor auditorium were frescoed in the "highest style of art." Touring shows such as Cedar Rapids' notorious Cherry Sisters (their act prompted rotten vegetables from the audience), minstrel shows, and burlesques made their stop at the Vinton opera house between engagements in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Long before the Americans with Disabilities Act, local ordinances began to recognize the need for accessibility in public places. In 1912 the Watson Opera House was condemned for public use because of the narrow stairway. The auditorium then served as an armory for the National Guard. When the Guard disbanded in 1916, the old rooms were used for various other entertainments including baseball and skating. The old opera house was destroyed by fire in 1930.

Meanwhile, movies and live productions flourished in other Vinton locations. Late Benton County historian Esther Williams remembered her earliest "picture shows" at the Air Dome theater located at the west end of the block on Fourth Street, approximately where Ervin Motor Company garage is located today. The theater projected flickering lantern shows and hosted amateur theatricals by churches and civic organizations. As the name implies, this was an open-air theater and operated only in the summer months.

The Mitchell Arcade, also on Fourth Street (then known as Jefferson Street), was established during this period. Harold Rector, former owner of the current Dollar Store building at 115 West Fourth Street, says remnants of the early movie house remain. There is still part of a hand-painted mural (featuring cherubs) under the paneling inside the front entrance. Articles describe a building with an open front where customers were attracted by a blaring player piano. The room was roughly 16 feet deep, with seats on either side of a center aisle. Rather than a "moving picture show" the shows were pictures that moved, usually one reel. They were aptly called the "flickers." A five-cent admission entitled patrons to stay all day if they wished. Pianist Edna Bain, was hired to play for the pictures. The arcade was evidently in operation only a short time early in the twentieth century.

Palace Theater Reigns for Over Half a Century

The Palace Theater was Vinton's longest running movie house. An account from the Cedar Valley Times says the brick building at 210 West Fourth Street was built in 1915 in by a man named Mike Ford of Cedar Rapids. Esther Williams remembered that the theater replaced a livery stable in a wooden building at that location. The theater enterprise was originally owned by the Diebold chain which had Palace Theaters in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. There was, however, a local entity incorporated in 1915 as the Palace Theater Company of Vinton. The group had a board of "not less than two nor more than six directors" and the general nature of its business was to "carry on and conduct theatres, play houses, moving picture shows, and all kinds of amusements, to acquire and own theatres and theater buildings and other things incident to the conducting of theatres and playhouses."

Silent movies, with dialogue and commentaries printed on the screen, were accompanied by live piano music. Edna Bain, Mrs Wade Rozell, and Mrs Martin Brown were three of the pianists. Cue sheets alerted them to changes in tempo and mood as they accompanied the action on the screen.

International and Local Stars Light Up the Palace: Variety Shows, Lectures, and the Talkies!

The Palace was also home to professional and amateur live performances. Helen Keller was a featured speaker there on January 18, 1916. Newspaper advertisements read "Extraordinary announcement-Herself in Real Life in the Most remarkable Lecture ever given, HELEN KELLER and her teacher, Mrs. Macy (Anne M. Sullivan). Miss Keller's subject will be 'HAPPINESS', preceded by the story of her life by Mrs. Anne S. Macy." Seats for the event were priced at 50¢, 75¢, and a dollar, well above the usual movie admissions of 5 to 20 cents but still below the ticket price for many live touring attractions of the day.

Advertisements in the Vinton Eagle indicate that the Palace had a local competitor in the Columbia Theater, no address given. (Could the Columbia have been the successor to the Mitchell Arcade? Possibly, but this writer can only speculate.) As early as December, 1913, the Columbia was showing features such as Cleopatra, heralding "6,000 feet of sumptuous beauty and exquisite art." In time, the Columbia evidently lost its audiences to the Palace, "Vinton's new modern up to date play house playing only high class photo plays and theatrical attractions."

Movies at the new theater featured stars of the day such as Mary Pickford and Theda Bara. The Palace celebrated its first new year's day in 1916 with a live performance, however. Uncle Tom's Cabin was featured, staring a company of over 50 people including "many Negroes from the sunny south who have been especially engaged." Advance publicity claimed that two seventy-foot cars were needed to transport special scenery including thirty head of horses, ponies, donkeys, burrows, bloodhounds, log cabin, and other numerous novelties. It is hard to imagine that all of this scenery and livestock was actually used on the small stage at the Palace.

Local talent abounded at the Palace, with shows such as The Womanless Wedding featuring (now deceased) Vintonians Clint Schlofelt as the bride, Myron Inman as the bridegroom, and Guy Parr as the baby wheeled down the aisle. Souvenir programs from a 1925 performance of Circus Solly list Esther Williams in the role of "Annie, a town character." Other familiar names in the program include Vinton's Keith Mossman and Jeanette Bolenbaugh (now Elwick) as members of the Kiddy Clown Chorus. The show was a fund raising effort of the Knights of Pythias Lodge.

From 1930 to 1954, the Palace leased and then owned by H.S. Waldorf. He remodeled the building, installing a "talkie machine" valued at $8,000. His daughter, Vinton resident Marian (Waldorf) Isbell, was five years old when the family moved to Vinton from Estherville to run the theater. She remembers and live vaudeville acts-from magic shows to Hawaiian dancers-between features, and seeing starlet Shelly Winters making a brief live appearance on a publicity tour.

1932 Fire Sparks Change

The Palace was destroyed by a fire of undetermined origin the night of March 7, 1932. The loss was estimated at $70,000. Waldorf once again remodeled the theater, choosing a Spanish motif and hiring a traveling artist to paint murals on the walls. The theater seated 500 and boasted "air cooling", which consisted of fans blowing air across streams of water in the rear of the building. Waldorf remodeled the front of the building again sometime later, adding more space in the lobby for the popcorn machine and concessions.

The Palace Sees Ups and Downs, New Uses

Although the youngsters turned out in large numbers year after year for features such as Ma and Pa Kettle movies, adult attendance slacked off in the '60s as families turned to television and to newer theaters in nearby Cedar Rapids. The owner during this time, a businessman from New Hampton, was planning to close the Palace in 1967 when Vinton businessmen stepped forward. Keith Elwick, Paul Holiday, Chuck Johnson, and Lien Knudsvig invested in the cinema business, hoping to keep family entertainment alive in the community. They did some remodeling, and even took out a few rows of seats in the front to test the popularity of teen dances on Saturday nights. For a time the theater featured a coffee shop in the front area. Two couples who managed the theater during this period still live in Vinton. Ernie and Donna Severtsgard managed the Palace for about three years and Glen and Janelle Beresford followed.

The Beresfords have fond recollections of the young people who filled the theater. "The Saturday matinees were the best," recalls Glen. "There were just lots and lots of little kids. They were well dressed and well behaved. They were just wonderful." "Now they are all grown and have probably forgotten us," adds Janelle, "but we certainly haven't forgotten them."

In 1972, the theater closed its doors. The building housed other businesses, including a bakery (Palace Pastries) and a game arcade, before it was once again gutted by fire. From 1994 to 1997, the building housed Hummel's Total Workout, a fitness gym.

Turning a New Page

On Dec. 1 1997, the building was purchased by ACT I (Area Community Theater Inc.) of Benton County at the recommendation of an exploratory committee. The facilities committee enagaged volunteers in fundraising and managed the development and construction phase as the building was renovated and equipped the theater for live theater and movies.

Features include:
* mainfloor seating capacity of 161.
* balcony seating capacity of 50.
* handicapped accessibility.
* stage, backstage,scene shop/dressing room area.
* complete infrastructure for theatrical lighting and sound.
* hearing assisted system.
* Dolby digital surround sound and Christie projector.
* retractable movie screen.
* concession and ticket sales areas

Palace Inc., a board of trustees was formed to oversee the business side of the new facility.
With the opening in November, 1999, Vinton and surrounding communities once again have a theater, and a place to hatch dreams for generations to come.