John Eberson designed the Palace Theatre, the Spanish Baroque house that locals call the Louisville Palace, here on the east side of Fourth Street between Broadway and Chestnut in the downtown theater district. This historic music venue opened on September 1, 1928, and was designed by architect John Eberson. It seats 2,800 people and is owned by Live Nation.
As you step closer, take in the Palace’s Spanish Baroque motif: arcades, balconies and turrets that give the facade its theatrical presence. Cobalt blue, with bursts of red and gold, washes the niches, coves and entrances in indirect light. Look up to the curved, vaulted ceiling: 139 sculptures of the faces of historical figures gaze down over an imitation nighttime sky painted above the theater room.
Inside the two-story house you’ll find a floor and a balcony, each with bars that run the width of the building behind the theater, separated from the performance space by a grand lobby of intricate art and architecture. Notice the vaulted ceiling above, where 139 sculpted faces watch over a painted night sky.