There’s something a bit ironic about a theater that opened on the promise of “good clean entertainment” becoming a burlesque house that advertised “extra special midnight shows.”
The Palace Theatre was the last major vaudeville/motion picture house built on Monroe Avenue, the city’s first entertainment district. It was also the largest theater on Monroe, but it was also one of the shortest-lived venues on the block, lasting only 17 years.
The Palace Theatre replaced an older nickelodeon on Monroe Avenue called the Alhambra Theatre, operated by John M. Dingfelder. Dingfelder leased the property from the estate of the late Amos Chaffee on April 26, 1905, for the purpose of running a shooting gallery. Two years later, Dingfelder expanded his offerings by fitting the Alhambra out for motion pictures in 1907. This made it one of the earlier nickelodeons in the city.
The second-floor "theatorium" also hosted boxing matches, which sometimes involved kids younger than 13 years old. This led to an investigation by police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Dingfelder was indignant, telling the Free Press for an April 1, 1908, story that "the authorities have not notified me that I cannot have children participate in my amateur performances, but I am perfectly willing to cut them out."
It was not a wholesome establishment.
Joseph B. Woolfenden, trustee of the Chaffee estate, sought to take "an active step against the nickelodeon evil" by trying to shut Dingfelder down, according to an April 9, 1909, article in the Detroit Free Press. He said that Dingfelder’s lease had said the property would be used as only a shooting gallery, and because film and projectors were a major fire hazard in the early days of motion pictures, the family was struggling to get insurance for the building. An exact closing date of the Alhambra is unknown, however, ads for it stopped showing up in newspapers in October 1913.
Dreams of something palatial
The Detroit Free Press broke the news on April 13, 1913, that The Palace Theatre would replace the Alhambra. The theater was built on Bates Street and Library Avenue, with the main foyer entrance on Monroe Avenue near Library and a second entrance along Library. It would be 80 feet by 110 feet with 1,600 seats, including 72 box seats. The vaudeville theater "will be the largest of its class in the city and one of the most beautiful and modern fireproof playhouses in the country," The Detroit Evening Times reported the following day. The Palace was the brainchild of brothers Clare A. and Graham Hoffman, who "have lived in Detroit nearly all their lives and have had many years' experience in the theatrical business," The Times continued. The brothers, both in their 30s at the time of the Palace’s announcement, had gotten into show business soon after leaving high school.
The Palace Theater Co. was organized and incorporated April 5, 1913, to get the venue built. In an attempt to lure investors, the company took out ads in the papers offering details about the new theater, including promises of "a stage large enough to present any act in vaudeville or any character of play produced in Detroit," read the ad published in the April 16, 1913, edition of the Detroit Evening Times. It promised that the Palace would offer continuous vaudeville from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the year, with eight shows daily and a change of program in the afternoon and evening to keep things fresh. Its opening date was set for Nov. 1 of that year, but that would get pushed back.
The architect of the Palace was C. Howard Crane, who told The Detroit News for a Feb. 15, 1914, article that “I have designed several local theaters, and playhouses elsewhere, but I consider this one the acme of my work to date in this line”.
Battle of the Palace
Despite the excitement for the new theater, there would be a series of setbacks and incidents that tarnished that hype - especially around the demolitions necessary to make way for it. Some were upset that the theater would spell the end of the home of John Farrar, a close friend of Gov. Lewis Cass and one of the first men to enlist in the War of 1812. The Detroit Times wrote June 7, 1913, that the old frame building was "one of the most historic of Detroit's old landmarks,” having been built on Bates Street in 1816.
On June 22, 1913, wreckers taking down one of the buildings on Bates Street ran into a problem in the form of a crowbar-wielding barber who was none too happy about the building where his shop was located was being demolished. Though his landlord had sold the building, George L. Beckerson refused to shut his barbershop, citing that he still had 16 months remaining on his lease. An injunction was issued restraining the wreckers, so the Hoffman brothers did something shady: Despite being served by the sheriff a notice barring them from doing so, the Hoffmans sent a gang of 20 laborers into the barbershop when a sheriff's deputy stepped away and had them smash the shop's cigar case, cash register, mirrors and chairs with pickaxes and crowbars.
When Beckerson got to his shop and saw the damage, he "sent the (wreckers) flying for the exits when he entered the place and began throwing chairs," The Detroit Times wrote June 23, 1913. Driven out of the barbershop downstairs, they headed upstairs. There, they were met by 63-year-old Joseph Peters, who lived above the barbershop with his two daughters. "The Italians were met at the head of the stairway by the enraged old man, who threatened to 'whip' the whole invading army if any of them dared to set foot on his threshold."
Meanwhile, the cops stood by and did nothing, saying they had no right to interfere.
"The attack and resistance formed a picturesque miniature warfare," the Detroit Free Press reported the following morning.
The Hoffmans contended that the tenants in the building had been given plenty of time to move but refused, so they decided to raze the buildings with them and their stuff in it. Finally, the Hoffmans negotiated with the holdouts, offering them rooms at the Burns Hotel and to pay their bills and moving expenses. It wasn’t reported how they appeased the barber.
On June 24, 1913, as the crews were taking down the Farrar House, tempers flared yet again. This time, Albert Pochelon of the L. Bemb Floral Co. got into it with W.H. Burgess, head of the demolition team. After objecting to the way the wreckers were, well, busting up things besides just the building, Pochelon started arguing with the crew. After a wrecker picked up a brick "and was selecting a spot on Pochelon's head on which to land the brick," the Detroit Times wrote June 26, 1913, "Pochelon yelled for a shotgun, and things looked troublous (sic)." A patrolman stepped in, and the storm blew over.
Finally, building permits for the Palace were filed in early October, and construction started Oct. 5, 1913.
Designing a Palace
All in, the Palace Theatre cost more than $150,000 to build, about $5 million in 2026 valuation, when adjusted for inflation. That number was significantly higher than similar venues built in the city to that point, and emphasizes the amount spent on decoration and amenities.
Crane designed the Palace in the Italian Renaissance style. The exterior of the building was covered in terra cotta tiles, which had a polychrome treatment to them. The facades along Bates and Library were pressed brick with terra cotta and stone trimmings.
The auditorium’s color scheme was blue, ivory, gold and “a touch of old rose.” There was a large mural over the 32-foot-by-23-foot proscenium arch that represented dawn, painted by John W. Flanders of New York. The stage was on the Bates Street side of the auditorium. The lobbies were also done in blue, ivory and gold, and featured imitation Caen stone and marble floors, stairs and wainscoting. There were also murals of “ girls dancing in the sunlight” in the Library Street entrance, which were also painted by Flanders.
The theater would feature a Welte organ orchestra, which was imported from Freiburg, Germany, at a cost of $15,000 - about $500,000 in 2026 valuation. This organ was touted as not only the first of its kind in Michigan, but the first west of New York. It was said that it could reproduce the sounds of 45 instruments of an orchestra, and could play music rolls, in case a musician was not available. The Detroit News wrote Feb. 15, 1914, that the organ was similar to those in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, lofty but likely exaggerated comparisons. Even then, the Palace also had an orchestra that could accompany the organ for performances that really needed that extra auditory oomph.
Not only was the theater ornate, but it was said to be one of the safest in the city at the time. Fires in crowded theaters were a major issue at the time, with the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago still being fresh on people’s minds, having come only a decade earlier. It was the deadliest single-building disaster in U.S. history, killing 602 people and injuring 250 others. Crane told The Detroit News for a Feb. 15, 1914, article previewing the Palace’s opening that, “with its 23 exits and fireproof construction and sprinkler system, it is one of the safest theaters in the west - the safest I know of. Twenty-three exits is one for every 100 people.” Other articles reported that there were 28 exits, and said the building could be entirely evacuated in a minute and a half, if disaster were to strike. Some ads for the Palace even boldly proclaimed it “the safest theater in the world.”
This theater was the second of the three so-called “alley-jumper” theaters in Detroit, with the others being the Columbia and Adams, both of which were also designed by Crane. This setup allowed the Palace to have an entrance along Monroe Avenue while allowing the auditorium to be built on cheaper land across the alley. It also allowed for the auditorium to be about 75 feet wide - 15 feet wider than any potential space on that block of Monroe Avenue. Even then, the Hoffmans needed to secure four direct leases and seven sub-leases to amass all the land needed for the project.
An improvement with this building not seen in the Columbia’s earlier design was a slight incline ramp over the alley instead of stairs, though everything else about the alley-jumper concept was the same, the entrance was on Monroe Avenue, and patrons would walk up the incline and across the alleyway into the mezzanine of the theater. "Instead of narrow, tortuous stairs, the entrance to the balcony is secured by an inclined plane of concrete, broad, and with a gentle slope," the Detroit Evening Times marveled Feb. 11, 1914. "Hundreds can move up and down without crowding and without the slightest danger."
Also unlike the Columbia Theater, the Palace had a second entrance on Library Street that bypassed the alley jumper all together.
The curtain rises
The Palace would take only 10 months from the time the leases were signed to its opening, and construction itself took only five months. The Frank Farrington Co., general contractors on the project, delivered the theater two months ahead of the contracted time (not accounting for the pushed-back original opening of Nov. 1, 1913).
The theater opened Feb. 16, 1914, at 7:30 p.m. Balcony tickets were 10 cents day and night, the first floor was 15 cents; and box seats were 20 cents. Prices went up a nickel for the evening shows. When adjusting for inflation, this meant admission would have ranged from about $3 to $8 in 2026. The theater offered continuous entertainment from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with five vaudeville acts and three first-run motion pictures offered at each show. In all, each show provided about an hour and 45 minutes of entertainment. Given the auditorium’s size and being open 12 hours a day, the Hoffmans said the Palace could move through more than 20,000 people a day - an ambitious number given that the city had fewer than half a million people in 1910.
"When a theater opens with a new standard of architectural and decorative beauty, a new record for convenience and comfort to its prospective patrons and a coming series of the most entertaining of dramatic productions, the opening then becomes an event of the keenest importance to the great theater-going public," the Detroit Evening Times wrote Feb. 11, 1914. "When the doors swing open and the first rush of patrons moves on into the theater proper, there will be a great and pleasing surprise awaiting. The newer generation of theater owners have learned a lesson, and its worth is well shown in this new home of vaudeville. The lesson is that popular prices does (sic) not mean that the patrons are entitled to anything but the best in comfort and beauty."
The Free Press reported the next day that some 2,200 "lovers of clean amusement" came to see the Palace make "its maiden bow" on opening night. The theater must have been absolutely packed, as its advertised capacity was 2,000 people, though its wide lobbies could accommodate another 1,500 waiting to enter the auditorium.
The auditorium was decorated with floral pieces from other theatre managers. The box seats that night were filled with prominent people in social, business and political life in Detroit, The Detroit Times reported Feb. 17, 1914.
Before the show, Circuit Judge Philip T. Van Zile gave a dedicatory address, singing the Palace's praises. "About the worst thing that can happen (to) a city is to have located in it a playhouse where are given plays that subtly menace the morals of the people and tear down the ideals of youth," Van Zile said. “Such a theater is on a par with the yellow back novel, which has done more to make thieves than any other one agency in our day. When two managers like these, having ideals themselves, dedicate this beautiful palace to clean amusement, the city and its people are to be congratulated along with them. May God help them carry out their plans.”
After Judge Van Zile, the Hoffman Brothers also gave a speech, although exactly what they said was not reported. However, they did acknowledge the flattering remarks from Van Zile, and promised to offer good, clean amusement.
The first show featured the Baltus Brothers, "marvelous Olympian acrobats"; Williams & Durrell, "those two nutty fellows"; the three musical Shirleys, "aristocrats of melody"; Burns & Lynn, the Tommy Atkins dancers; and the riding Stickneys, "premier equestrians, late feature with Ringling Bros.' circus." The second show offered the Arco Brothers, "Europe's greatest athletes"; James & Pryor in the singing and talking skit "At the Depot"; Gallarinni (also spelled as Gallerini by some publications) Four, "phenomenal musical act"; Victoria Sisters, singing novelty songs and dances; and Palfrey, Barton & Brown, presenting "Follies of Vaudeville." Then there were the three motion pictures.
At least initially, the theater was a massive success, with things going so well for the Hoffman brothers that they soon started working on a new theater on Woodward Avenue, the Colonial Theatre, which they opened in 1917, three years after the Palace. This theater was located north of downtown on Woodward Avenue, opposite Brush Park and located on the present site of Little Caesars Arena.
However, things soon after turned south for the Hoffmans, as they weren’t the only ones opening theaters in the city, and the increase in competition left their theaters playing to less-than-full houses and losing money as they tried to keep stellar bills on the menu for guests. On Jan. 25, 1918, the brothers filed for bankruptcy separately in federal court. Debts were listed for Clare Hoffman at $88,879 and Graham Hoffman at $89,979, about $2.1 million apiece in 2026 money. They sold the Colonial Theatre and presumably turned over control of the Palace Theater Co, too.
Alterations were done to the Palace in 1919, building permits show, but do not detail what was done. In 1920, the theater had a two-manual, 19-rank Hillgreen-Lane pipe organ installed - rather surprising given the praise and media coverage of the organ installed in the Palace just six years earlier.
From vaudeville to va-va-voom
By 1925, Charles W. Munz was the president of the Palace Theater Co., with Dell A. Mead as vice president, Henry J. Schulte as treasurer, Harriet E. Applegate as secretary, Howard F. Cline as counsel, Will Cunningham as special booking representative, and Bert R. Williams as managing director. Munz was also president of several other theater companies and venues, including the La Salle Garden Theatre, Tuxedo Theatre in Hamtramck and the [Grand Riviera Theatre]. (https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/grand-riviera-theatre)
Feb. 4, 1928, was the last day that the Palace offered vaudeville, with some sources stating that this was its last day of operation. However, the theatre reopened the next day as a burlesque house, advertising itself as “the House of Jazz,” and that it had an “extra special midnight show every Saturday”. A Feb. 11, 1928, Detroit Times ad called it “a jazzy burlesque revel”; another in the Feb. 9, 1928, edition of The Detroit News described it as “a galaxy of burlesque favorites.”
The Detroit News reported Feb. 5, 1928, that the Palace's interior was altered to add an illuminated runway reaching 14 rows into the seats, and was refinished inside and out. "The entertainment promised is fast, clean burlesque at popular prices," The News wrote.
It is presumed that Munz sold the Palace around this same time, because when Munz sold all of his theaters to Publix, a subsidiary of the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation in December 1929, the Palace was not included. However, all of his other theaters, including the Tuxedo, Grand Riviera, Annex, and La Salle Garden theaters were part of the deal.
On Aug. 25, 1929, the Palace became the home of the Mutual Burlesque, which had previously been at the Cadillac Theatre, opposite the Book-Cadillac Hotel. The first show at the new location was “Bare Facts,” starring Joe Yule and Reggie White. There also was an additional program featuring Blossom LaVelle. This did not last long, as the troupe moved to the Gayety Theatre on Cadillac Square on Dec. 22, 1929.
No advertisements for the Palace can be found between then and Oct. 9, 1930, when the film “Jango,” about an expedition into the jungles in Africa, was shown there. After that, the theater was used as a movie theater, with the last advertisement for the Palace that could be located was from May 23, 1931, with the movie "Bright Lights,” offering a potential closure date.
Death by three cuts
Demolition of the theater’s auditorium began in April 1934, and Great Lakes Wrecking Co. took out a classified ad in the April 10, 1934, edition of The Detroit Times offering bricks, radiator and used lumber from the theater for sale. The theater’s auditorium was replaced with a surface level parking lot, however, the Monroe Avenue and Library Street entrances were kept standing and had lives beyond the theater.
The Library Street entrance was converted into the Eastern Star Cafe, opening in 1931. Details on this cafe are sparse, but a police raid in 1939 shows the building was still there then. It’s currently unknown when the Library Street entrance was torn down, though it was gone as of 1949, becoming part of the same parking lot the auditorium was torn down for.
The Monroe Avenue entrance was converted into a storefront that was home to the Roy Logan Shoe Store, which was open by 1938 and lasted until the building's demolition in the summer of 1953. Four buildings were demolished on Monroe Avenue, three being storefronts to the left of the National Theater, and the fourth being the Hilsendegen building, which were all demolished for a parking garage and the widening of Randolph Street, which was completed in November 1954.
HistoricDetroit.org's Dan Austin contributed to the writing of this report.