The Palace Theatre Begins New Seat Installations

The Palace Theatre will begin installing 489 new seats next week to replace the theater's smaller, aging seats. The new seats will have a classic aesthetic to match the historic theatre, but with modern materials and comfort for patrons. The wider seating will be configured to add 33 additional seats which will include adding an extra row in the front center of the theatre's Golden Circle Seating.

American Seating engineered the seats and will begin removing the existing seats in the orchestra section of the theatre on June 24, 2012. Installation of the replacements and additions will be completed within two weeks.

Approaching its Centennial, the Palace Theatre in downtown Manchester is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to entertain, inspire, educate and connect the community through the performing arts while preserving a historic Manchester landmark. The seat installation is part of the Second Century Campaign, an overall strategic plan to ramp up the theatre for another century of success.

 "Our members and patrons have told us that they place a high priority on the theatre itself as not only a historic landmark, but also as a vibrant cultural venue for the city of Manchester," said Peter Ramsey, Palace Theatre President. "Caring for the building itself is one of our highest priorities."

The Palace Theatre recently installed a new fire alarm system and moved its box office to rented space adjacent to the theatre. Ramsey said other improvements to the building will make it a safe and comfortable theatre experience for patrons.

As part of Second Century Campaign, The Board of Trustees of the Palace Theatre Trust has adopted a plan to raise funds to update and improve the facilities and expand programming at the historic theatre. The Board has outlined and approved a variety of projects designed to update and improve the facility from 2012 - 2015.