Morris Performing Arts Center
| Owner: | Morris Performing Arts Center |
| Location: | South Bend, Indiana |
| Role: | Planning, Architecture, Historic Preservation, Interiors |
| Completion: | 2000 |
| Awards: | League of Historic American Theaters Outstanding Historic Theatre Award 2015 |
The original Palace Theatre opened in downtown South Bend in the summer of 1922. Marshall Fields of Chicago designed the opulent décor and established the color palette of old gold and rose with touches of ivory, blue and tan. Re-opened in March 2000, the facility was expanded to 100,000 square feet. It contains a 2,400 seat theatre and a large 1,000 person ballroom. The $12 million restoration and renovation included a new stage house designed to accommodate the most demanding “Broadway road shows”, new seating, dressing rooms, loading area, an expanded orchestra pit, portable orchestra shell, new rigging and gridiron, bridges, ADA compliance, life safety conformance, expanded patron facilities, and extensive interior restoration. The Morris Preforming Arts Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
*Thomas Roberts, AIA was an employee of William Kessler Associates.
