{"nrhp_refnum":"79003235","name":"Palace Theatre","other_names":["Albany Civic Auditorium"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"19 Clinton Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albany","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.654479845000026,"lon":-73.75003020599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-10-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A vaudeville and movie theatre at 19 Clinton Avenue in Albany, New York, built in 1930 and opened in 1931. John Eberson designed it and M. Shapiro and Sons built it. It now serves as a civic auditorium.","why_significant":"The Palace was the third largest theatre in the world when it opened in 1931. It is an excellent example of John Eberson's work, in an Austrian Baroque interior. It is the last movie palace in Albany and one of only three in the capital district.","narrative":"Built in 1930 and opened in 1931 at 19 Clinton Avenue, the Palace Theatre in Albany began as a vaudeville and movie house. It was designed by John Eberson, an architect credited with more than five hundred theatres, and built by M. Shapiro and Sons. A two-story block with shops and the entry fronts the large auditorium mass behind it. Inside, a single-balcony hall in the Austrian Baroque style features molded entablatures, engaged statuary, boxes framed by arches and a Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier. The grand foyer has matching red marble staircases and murals by Andrew Karoly and Jules Zarlot. On opening it ranked as the third largest theatre in the world and was owned by Jacob Fabian under RKO auspices. The city bought it in 1969 after it closed, and it has since served as a concert hall and civic auditorium, home to the Albany Symphony Orchestra. It is the last movie palace in Albany and one of three in the capital district.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Eberson (architect); M. Shapiro and Sons (builder)","architectural_style":"Austrian Baroque (interior, by John Eberson)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Albany and used as a civic auditorium and concert hall; condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.062093-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/79003235.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003235/74838f69c1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003235/74838f69c1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"UpstateNYer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PalaceTheater.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">UpstateNYer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PalaceTheater.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312095","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Theatre_(Albany,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7126201"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/palace-theatre-79003235/"}