Morris Performing Arts Center

Morris Performing Arts Center (originally Palace Theatre and formerly Morris Civic Auditorium) is a 2,564-seat concert hall located in South Bend, Indiana. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later became a movie palace. It was developed along with the neighboring Palais Royale Building by the Palace Theater Corporation. It is a four- to five-story, rectangular, Spanish Renaissance Revival style brick building with finely crafted terra cotta ornamentation. It was planned for demolition in 1959 but was saved from demolition, and between 1998 and 2000, it was restored and remodeled.[2]: 51 

Morris Performing Arts Center
Front of the center
Former namesPalace Theatre
Morris Civic Auditorium
Address211 N. Michigan St.
South Bend, Indiana
United States
OwnerCity of South Bend
OperatorMorris Entertainment, Inc.
TypeVaudeville house
Capacity2,564
Current usePerforming arts center
Construction
Opened1922
ReopenedMarch 3, 2000
Website
www.morriscenter.org
Palace Theatre
Morris Performing Arts Center is located in Indiana
Morris Performing Arts Center
Morris Performing Arts Center is located in the United States
Morris Performing Arts Center
Coordinates41°40′42″N 86°15′2″W
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
ArchitectJ.S. Aroner; Ralph Sollitt Co.
Architectural styleSpanish Renaissance Revival
MPSDowntown South Bend Historic MRA
NRHP reference No.85001226[1]
Added to NRHPJune 5, 1985

Today, Morris Performing Arts Center's interior features a rose, blue and cream color scheme, as it originally did when it opened. The theater's stage, which measures 56 feet by 57 feet and contains a red and gold main curtain, dates from the 2000 restoration. The theater is home to the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and also hosts Broadway shows, concerts, and other special events, including Marian High School's annual commencement ceremony. The theater's interior is notable for borrowing from European architectural styles.[3] More than half of the seats at Morris Performing Arts Center — 1,282 are in the balcony. The remainder of the seats are in the lower level.

In 1985, the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It qualified for historic designation both because of its place in the area's history and because of its historically significant architecture.[1]

In 2022, the theater celebrated its 100th year in existence, and on November 2nd of that year, a documentary commemorating the anneversary aired on the local PBS affiliate, WNIT.[4]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Elizabeth A. Straw and Karen Kiemnec (January 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Downtown South Bend Historic MRA" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  3. Official website
  4. "A Century at the Morris". YouTube.
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