Morris Performing Arts Center

Morris Performing Arts Center
	Front of the center
Former names	Palace Theatre; Morris Civic Auditorium
Address	211 N. Michigan St.; South Bend, Indiana; United States
Owner	City of South Bend
Operator	Morris Entertainment, Inc.
Type	Vaudeville house
Capacity	2,564
Current use	Performing arts center
Construction
Opened	1922
Reopened	March 3, 2000
Website
	www.morriscenter.org
	Palace Theatre
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	41°40′42″N 86°15′2″W / 41.67833°N 86.25056°W
Area	Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Architect	J.S. Aroner; Ralph Sollitt Co.
Architectural style	Spanish Renaissance Revival
MPS	Downtown South Bend Historic MRA
NRHP reference No.	85001226
Added to NRHP	June 5, 1985

Morris Performing Arts Center (originally Palace Theatre and formerly Morris Civic Auditorium) is a 2,564-seat concert hall located in South Bend, Indiana. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later became a movie palace. It was developed along with the neighboring Palais Royale Building by the Palace Theater Corporation. It is a four- to five-story, rectangular, Spanish Renaissance Revival style brick building with finely crafted terra cotta ornamentation. It was planned for demolition in 1959 but was saved from demolition, and between 1998 and 2000, it was restored and remodeled.^[2]^: 51

Morris Performing Arts Center's interior has a rose, blue and cream color scheme, as when it opened. The theater stage measures 56 feet by 57 feet and contains a red and gold main curtain dating from the 2000 restoration. The theater is home to the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and hosts Broadway shows, concerts, and other special events, including Marian High School's annual commencement ceremony. The theater's interior borrowed from European architectural styles.^[3] More than half of the seats at the center, 1,282, are in the balcony, with the remainder in the lower level.

In 1985, the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It qualified for historic designation because of its place in the region's history and because of its historically significant architecture.^[1]

In 2022, the theater celebrated its 100th year, and on November 2 of that year, a documentary commemorating the anniversary aired on the local PBS affiliate, WNIT-TV.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Elizabeth A. Straw and Karen Kiemnec (January 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Downtown South Bend Historic MRA" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01.
^ Official website
^ "A Century at the Morris". YouTube.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[SHAARD-2] "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Elizabeth A. Straw and Karen Kiemnec (January 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Downtown South Bend Historic MRA" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01.

[3] Official website

[4] "A Century at the Morris". YouTube.

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v t e South Bend, Indiana
Neighborhoods	West Washington Historic District
Education	South Bend Community School Corporation John Adams HS Clay HS James Whitcomb Riley HS Washington HS St. Joseph HS Trinity School at Greenlawn Stanley Clark School Indiana University South Bend
Landmarks	Ballpark Synagogue Civil Rights Heritage Center (former Engman Public Natatorium) First Presbyterian Church Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium Ignition Park Morris Performing Arts Center The Museums at Washington and Chapin Studebaker National Museum North Pumping Station Joseph D. Oliver House South Bend Civic Theatre Tippecanoe Place
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