Reg Lenna Center for the Arts Executive Director Hillary Meyer addresses audience for kick off of the theatre’s Centennial Celebration (February 5, 2023)
The Reg Lenna Center for the Arts kicked off its centennial celebration Sunday.
A ceremony was held in the theatre on the 100th anniversary of the Palace Theatre opening in 1923.
Executive Director Hillary Meyer, addressing an audience of local officials and members of the public, said the theatre has stood while the landscape around it has changed, “Not many 100 year old buildings have maintained the integrity and drama of its original appearance. The age of the building is significant as it shows how much this theatre means to all of you. It’s the community who have helped it persevere for this long.”
Reg Board Vice President Ellen Ditonto said the theatre has had a storied past, “From the days of vaudeville, to the movie debut done by our own Lucille Ball, and to a night in 1981, one night I was here actually, when the late great Harry Chapin performed a one-man concert. It was raining that night and it was raining on the stage. And that was the very start of the refurbishment and the renovation of the old Palace Theatre to Reg Lenna Civic Center first and now the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.”
Meyer encouraged people to share their memories or stories of experiences at the Palace and Reg Theatre.
You can share those memories by visiting reglenna.com/memories. Photos can be shared by emailing memories@reglenna.com
That place is one of the city’s oldest grifts…save your money…place is a dump…