GALLERY
ONE
For years the heart of Louisville's downtown commercial district was Fourth
Street. Shopping and dining were wonderful, and there wasn't a better
way to end the day than taking in a movie at one of the gorgeous theatres--the
Rialto, the Kentucky, the Ohio, the Mary Anderson or any of the other
movie houses. The most beautiful of these theatres, and only one
of two that survived urban renewal, is The Louisville Palace (formerly
the United Artists Theatre). Its a treasure to generations of Louisvillians.
The Louisville Palace
is located on the east side of Fourth Street between Broadway and Chestnut.
This location is convenient to the city's finest hotels and restaurants.
Designed by noted architect John Eberson, the theatre opened at 10:15
a.m. Saturday, September 1, 1928 at a purported cost of over two million
dollars--a whole lot of money in those days. Although its facade
is dynamic in appearance, it doesn't provide a clue as to the immensity
and spectacular design of the interior of the theatre. Upon entering
the lobby and grand foyer, the Spanish Baroque motif begins its development.
Cobalt blue, bursts of red and gold indirectly light all of the niches,
coves and entrances. Above the Spanish treasures there is a curved,
vaulted ceiling with 139 carvings of the eternal greats. In a central
portion one finds plaster busts of Socrates, Beethoven, Dante and even
John Eberson himself! In any direction there is something magnificent
to please the eye and spark the imagination.
"Enter and view with astonishment the magnificence that the hand of man
has wrought. The more you look, the more you will see."---The Courier
Journal September 1, 1928