Film house, Opry home story stretches to 1940

Hundreds of area residents and visitors pack into the Palace Theatre on Main Street every week for movie screenings, benefit concerts and Grapevine Opry performances, but if it weren't for a series of impassioned owners, the historic landmark might have been destroyed decades ago.

The Palace Theatre opened as a movie theater in November 1940 and was used exclusively by silver screen patrons until 1973, when "Serpico" was the final selection to grace its screen. When the movie house closed, the Palace was used as a storage space and hay barn until a city dance instructor took interest. Chisai Childs had big dreams for the building as a performance venue, and she and partner Johnny High soon found a steady stream of support.

"They had cleaned it out, brought in folding chairs, and at their first recital, [Chisai's] rich aunt Susie Slaughter came in, sat down, and the chair collapsed," Grapevine Opry Producer Rocky Gribble said. "I've heard that within the week following that, Aunt Susie went out and bought new theater seats for the building."

After that, the building evolved along with the show; the Grapevine Opry was born and the oil baroness R.L. Slaughter ("Aunt Susie") put more than $1 million into renovating the Palace Theatre. The Opry's grand reopening came Sept. 13, 1975, on Slaughter's birthday; performers gave an impromptu outdoor concert on the Opry's balcony overlooking Main Street, Slaughter cut pieces from a 180-pound birthday cake, and drawing prizes for attendees included a customized '65 Chevy Corvair. The Opry, a country music and variety show, drew crowds from near and far, and even served as a set for the 1983 film "Tender Mercies." But fighting between Childs and High eventually soured Slaughter's support.

Childs closed the Grapevine Opry's doors and filed for bankruptcy in 1982. The Opry — then synonymous with the Palace — was saved for a time by Slaughter, but then sold to now-Congressman Kenny Marchant, who teamed up with Colleyville businessman Nelson Thibodeaux to take the Opry in a new direction. The Opry stage was attracting Nashville stars during that period, and Thibodeaux had plans to turn an adjacent building into a country restaurant and entertainment facility. The savings & loan crisis stopped those plans, however.

The Palace faced closure again in 1986, when the pilot light on a space heater mixed with the fumes of a freshly varnished stage set a fire that took out much of the stage, seating and ceiling. Marchant decided to renovate and push forward with the Opry, which came under the management of Gribble in 1987, but in 1989 he sold the building to an Arlington attorney who later filed for bankruptcy.

In 1991, when the theater faced demolition, Grapevine stepped in. City leaders feared the prominent and historical space would be sold to the highest bidder and destroyed, so the city purchased the property for $174,000 with the understanding that the Grapevine Opry would stay on as an anchor tenant. After closing for a $3.8 million restoration in 2000, the Palace and next-door property Lancaster Theatre reopened May 1, 2001, as the Palace Arts Center. Today, the Palace still features the Grapevine Opry almost every Saturday.

Palace Theatre, 300 S. Main St., Grapevine , Tickets: 817-410-3100, Rentals: 817-410-3541, www.grapevinetexasusa.com