Canton Palace Theatre

In Downtown Canton, Ohio, a standing room only crowd welcomed the opening of Harry Harper Ink's million dollar vaudeville and movie palace on Monday, November 22, 1926.
The American public was enjoying the Charleston craze and motion pictures featuring such screen stars as Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. The Theatre was a gift to the community form Canton entrepreneur and industrialist businessman Harry Harper Ink. He owned the canton based Tonsiline Company, makers of a cough syrup formula marketed in a unique giraffe shaped bottle. The two giraffe plaques located above our proscenium arch are reminiscent of this motif.

The Theatre was designed by the noted Austrian born architect John Eberson of Chicago, who achieved fame during the 1920s through his creation of "atmospheric" theatres, located in cities across the United States. The Palace seeks to re-create a Spanish courtyard on a midsummer night. Its ceiling, a starry sky with wisps of clouds, creates a dream effect. The Palace still has our original cloud machine that makes the clouds continuously march across the sky.
ImageThe theatre includes an ornate columned proscenium arch over its stage, an elaborate fly system for the numerous stage curtains and theatrical backdrops, eleven dressing rooms, a chorus room, a musician’s lounge, a music room one shower room, and an orchestra pit with seating for eighteen musicians. Peter Clark designed the original lighting system to take viewers from sunrise to sunset in the courtyard setting.

One of the most famous attractions of the Palace Theatre is the mighty Kilgen Pipe Organ. It was originally used to provide background music for the silent movies shown on the Palace Theatre screen. The Kilgen is one of only a few left in the country, and the only one that remains in its original home.

The 1960s and 1970s brought about a period of neglect and decay to Canton’s downtown area. Businesses and stores migrating to the suburbs and the growing popularity of television affected the Palace’s regular patronage. The theatre’s doors were locked to the public and its marquee darkened on its 50th Anniversary in 1976.

Just one week before the structure was doomed to a wrecking ball, the Canton Jaycees stepped forward to act as the holding organization until a search committee could be formed to see if there were enough people interested in making The Palace Theatre a viable business once again. Rescued by a group of concerned citizens and the City of Canton, the Palace was held in trust until The Canton Palace Theatre Association could be formed.

The building reopened in 1980 and the restoration of the theater has been ongoing since. To date, approximately $4.0 million has been spent to restore the building.
Today The Palace is once again alive a vital multipurpose entertainment facility. Its marquee burns brightly sixty feet above Market Avenue welcoming you to enter its grand foyer and become a part of Canton’s nostalgic past and its bright future. The majestic Palace Theatre is once again the heartbeat of the Canton community and plays host to over 300 events per year that has an attendance of over 100,000 per year.