DISCOVER MUSIC SOME OF THE MORE GRATIFYING MOMENTS in Mike Langer’s job come when national bands and artists take a moment on stage at The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg to compli-ment the venue. “About half the acts will say how much they miss performing in the old-time theaters,” said Langer, president of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which owns and operates the theater. “We get it a lot behind the scenes, but it’s validating when they compliment us and the community for keeping a theater like this alive.” On Sept. 2, the Palace will celebrate its 90th anniversary. What opened on Sept. 2, 1926, as a vaudeville and movie house called the Manos Theatre after the family that built it, is now the county’s premier spot for live music, theater, comedy and other perfor-mances by national and local acts. In the years in between, it switched hands several times, including a 1930 sale to Warner Bros. Theatres, Inc., in order to capitalize on the emergence and popularity of talking pictures. Twice the theater was sold in the 1970s, and in 1977, lo-cal businessman Carl V. Mari-nelli bought the venue and renamed it The Palace Theatre. After his passing, the Greensburg Area Cultural Council and other community leaders worked to save the theater, and it was sold to the group that would later become the Westmoreland Cultural Trust. Records of all the live acts and musicians to pass through the theater during its 90-year existence date back only to the mid-1990s, director of op-erations, programming and marketing Teresa Baughman said. However, she recently received a copy of an adver-tisement for the theater that ran the day Pearl Harbor was attacked show-ing Ella Fitzgerald as an upcoming concert. As they continue to uncover and preserve the history of the theater, they are compiling what they hope will be a more thorough list of performers who’ve graced the Palace stage. THE PALACE AT A look back at 90 years of musical excellence BY KAREN PRICE A sign from the Palace Theater in Greensburg of Slim Bryant and his Wilcats. Thomas Hoyt “Slim” Bryant, was a country band leader, singer, influential guitarist and songwriter. 38 | Discover Westmoreland 2016
SSM_X001XXC07312016_Discover Westmoreland
To see the actual publication please follow the link above