Land
for what is now known as The Morris Performing Arts Center
was purchased in 1921 for $100,000. Jacob Handelsman, a developer
who had built the Blackstone and State Theaters in Downtown
Chicago, had plans to build a state of the art theater and
ballroom on the South Bend site. The architect, J.S. Aroner
of Chicago, hired Marshall Fields of Chicago to provide the
interior design. The architectural elements of the theater
included many different styles including Italian Renaissance,
Spanish Revival and Baroque. The theater is rich in exquisite
detail; hand-painted cherubs, crystal chandeliers, Versailles-Style
arch and ornate plaster moldings. A hand-stenciled gilded
blue dome crowns the theater, rising 65 feet above the audience.
The theater was built with the intention that a trip throughout
the theater would make a patron feel as if they had just made
a trip through Europe.
Patrons
of the facility not only enjoyed a magnificent ballroom and
theater but also available were luxuries such as a supervised
nursery, a sitting room for women complete with an attendant,
and a smoking room for men. Seats in the theater were arranged
for best viewership and for patrons seated in the upper level,
alcoves were planned along the way so they could rest while
traveling to their seats.
Listed
on the National Historic Register, the Morris was built in
1921 opening in November of 1921 with the Palais Ballroom
to follow in January of 1922. Built for use as a vaudeville
house, The Palace Theater also played silent movies and later
"talkies". It has been the site of two world premier movies,
Knute Rocke-All American in 1940 and Rudy in 1993. Rock and
roll took the stage in the 60's and 70's and included such
acts as James Brown, Pure Prairie League, Frank Zappa, the
Eagles and even Aerosmith in 1974. The South Bend Symphony
Orchestra and The Broadway Theatre League have called the
theater "home" since 1959.
With
the advent of television, theaters across the country experienced
low attendance and the Palace was no exception. In August
of 1959, the Palace Theatre Board voted to demolish the building.
Feeling that the theater played an important role in the community
of South Bend, Mrs. E.M. Morris offered to buy the Palace
and save it from the wrecking ball that September. She then
sold the theater to the City of South Bend for $1.00. In October
of 1959 the theater was renamed the "Morris Civic Auditorium"
in her honor.
After
70 years, the Morris began to show its age and it became apparent
that it was in need of a new stage house and a complete renovation
and restoration. In 1992, The City of South Bend and South
Bend Entertainment, Inc. embarked on a public/private partnership
to raise the funds needed to renovate the Morris. Construction
began in March 1998 and was completed in February 2000.
