About
The Theater
F.R. Epting built this theater in the former spot held by J.E. Oakey’s Furniture Store for Frank Glick. Within a single year, the town of Forest went from no downtown movie theatres to two with the opening of the Forest Theatre on March 2, 1929 and the opening of the Palace Theatre on September 29, 1929.
The theatre opened with a naming contest that night in which 20 people chose “Palace” but only Woodrow Little was able to claim the $5 naming prize. The opening film was Eddie Quillan in “The Sophomore”. “Gone With the Wind” was a big hit at the theatre.
Max Connett and Fred T. McLendon of Connett-McLendon Enterprises Circuit took over the Palace. They built two new theatres in 1950 to complement the theatre. It would build the Ritz Drive-In in 1950 opening in 1951 and the Town Theatre which launched August 31, 1950.
The launch of the Town Theatre would reduce the Palace Theatre to weekend operation only. The Palace Theatre closed after a September 27, 1957 double-feature of “Iron Mountain Trail” with Rex Allen and “Handle With Care” starring Dean Jones supported by Chapter 2 of the serial, “Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock". One of the last events in the venue appears to be a wrestling match on November 17, 1962. The building was converted for other uses in 1966.
In the decades that followed, the building was condemned, abandoned, and had fallen into disrepair until it was purchased by Summers Lee in October of 2024. Since then, through an extraordinary preservation effort, the Palace Theater has been brought back to life and is now the most fully remodeled historic building in Scott County.
The Palace Theater
Today, the Palace Theater stands not only as a rare surviving piece of local cinema history, but also as a symbol of renewal, vision, and pride in the heritage of downtown Forest. From its 1929 movie beginnings to its present-day restoration, the Palace continues to tell the story of Scott County’s past while inspiring its future.
