Photo courtesy Nelson ThibodeauxFilm 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.
