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Cadillac Palace Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)

USA / Illinois / Chicago / Chicago, Illinois / West Randolph Street, 151

The Palace Theatre opened at the comer of Randolph and LaSalle Streets in Chicago on October 4, 1926. Designed by legendary theatre architects George and Cornelius W. Rapp, the brothers also responsible for the design of the Chicago and Oriental Theatres, the building was commissioned by Emil and Karl Eitel. The Palace served as the central unit of their $12 million "Eitel Block Project," which also included the 22-story Metropolitan office building and The New Bismarck Hotel.

Originally the theatre was named "The New Palace," so as to avoid confusion with approximately ten other Chicago theatres which bore the Palace name. The theatre's interior featured a splendor previously unseen in Chicago - a breathtaking vision inspired by the palaces of Fontainebleau and Versailles. The theatre's distinctive characteristics included a lobby richly appointed in huge, decorative mirrors and breche violet and white marble, which swept majestically through a succession of lobbies and foyers; great wall surfaces enhanced with gold leaf and wood decorations; 2,500 plush, roomy seats; spectacular crystal chandeliers; a "cosmetique salon" where women received free beauty parlor service and scented cigarettes; and a stage sufficiently large enough to house the greatest productions of the day.

In 1999, the theatre underwent a complete restoration and renovation. Theatre lobbies have been restored to their original grandeur, including restoration of the stone work and original plaster, reconstructed to blend with its historical context. Renamed the Cadillac Palace, the theatre retains the elegance, sophistication and intimacy of the original theatre while melding state-of-the-art technological innovations for modern productions and the personal comfort demands of today's patrons. In 1926, a critic of the day proclaimed the Palace, "The most ideal theatre in this country or abroad." With the reopening of the magnificently restored Cadillac Palace theatre, these words once again ring true.
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Coordinates:   41°53'2"N   87°37'59"W
This article was last modified 14 years ago