Our store, located at 145 3rd Street in beautiful Santa Rosa, California
Mount Washington Observatory
The Palace Theather

When I was very young I enjoyed roaming the outdoors around Lake Candlewood in the Berkshire Mountains of Connecticut. When I was around 9 our family moved to Waterbury a mill town considered the brass city of the world with its belching smokestacks and river which changed colors daily depending on what was dumped in it. Our neighborhood was on the edge of town up in the hills, Thank God!

But at least the forest was right out my back door. I adapted quickly met lots of friends and also built up a large paper route, a means to keep wandering and make some money at the same time. Weekends we played baseball in the sandbanks, sledding or skiing the hills in winter, pretty much always doing something. Occasionally, one of our parents would drop us off at the movies in town and afterwards go for a coke or milkshake and explore downtown until we were picked up at the specified time and place.

On several occasions when there was no parent available so we decided to walk to town. To me it was as if we were on a great journey, miles from home, on our own. I recently checked out the miles on Google maps and it only was 4.2 miles but to an eleven year old it felt like we were traveling a great distance. I felt the effort was worth it, especially if the movie was playing at the Palace Theater.

The Palace was a magical place. It was built during the vaudeville and silent films days of theater with its opulent décor featuring an eclectic mix of Greek, Roman, Arabic and Federal motifs. As you entered the grand lobby you
knew that something special was about to happen, inside you sat looking up at its ornate dome ceilings, all in a palatial setting fit for a king. By the fifties, the Palace was taking on a seedy look and even though the balconies were closed and the seats were worn and torn, it seem the most fitting place to watch a John Wayne western, a Boris Karloff horror film and of course a fifties science-fiction film.

The Palace’s better days were coming to an end as well as the town of Waterbury. Factories were moving off shore businesses were closing and in 1987 the Palace closed. By the nineties Waterbury was ranked 10 Worst Places to live in America. The Palace sat in darkness for 18 years as the city faded into oblivion.

But a jewel like the Palace couldn’t lay dormant forever. It took three years of renovation and $30 million in funds to bring it back to its original splendor. This jewel was polished up and transformed into a 90,000 square foot arena, housing a state-of-the-art theatrical facility as a historically preserved City landmark. In the mean time, my need to wander took me 3000 miles away from Waterbury to California a place of dreams with limitless possibilities. Recently, I came across a story of the Palace and its rise to glory and Waterbury’s transformation.

Nowadays, sitting in a movie house waiting for the film to start, I think back to the Palace and how waiting for the curtain to rise was a delight taking in all sights of a magical theater from another era. How glad I am to see this beautiful place will live on and allow more young minds to wander.

For more information about The Palace

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Questions? Call us at 800-290-1920
Santa Rosa Store Hours
Monday - Friday: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday: 10am-6pm
Sunday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm