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PPAC sits on Weybosset Street in downtown Providence and first opened in 1928 as Loew’s State Theatre. Designed by Rapp & Rapp—basically the go-to architects for movie palaces in the ‘20s—it was built for the Loew’s Theatres chain at the height of the movie palace boom. It opened with Excess Baggage starring William Haines, but the real draw that night was the building itself. Over 14,000 people showed up just to see the chandeliers, marble, and ornamentation.
During the mid-20th century, the theater gradually shifted away from film. From 1950 to 1972, it was known simply as Loew’s Theatre and focused more on live entertainment. In 1972, it was renamed the Palace Concert Theater and became a major rock venue. Between 1973 and 1975, it hosted acts like The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, The Bee Gees, Queen, Lou Reed, and Jackson Browne. King Crimson recorded their song “Providence” live here in 1974 for their Red album.
By the mid-1970s, the building had deteriorated, and in 1977 it was nearly demolished. According to then-mayor Buddy Cianci, the owner submitted a demolition permit—but Cianci and the city stepped in with over $1 million in emergency funding to save it. Local businesses, the state of Rhode Island, and private donors also joined the effort. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year and reopened in 1978 as the Ocean State Theatre.
In 1982, the name was changed to Providence Performing Arts Center, and in 1996 it became the centerpiece of Cianci’s Arts and Entertainment District—a revitalization effort that used tax incentives to attract artists and creative businesses back to downtown Providence. A major restoration project began in 1999, returning much of the building to its original 1928 appearance while modernizing the stage and backstage areas to accommodate Broadway-scale productions.
Today, PPAC is one of the best-preserved examples of a 1920s movie palace still in active use. It hosts national Broadway tours, concerts, and community events—still doing exactly what it was built to do, nearly 100 years later.
It is still unbelievable that this mind blowing building was nearly demolished and here in the UK there is only 1 cinema listed to Grade 1. All the Paramounts here with outstanding
interiors have been demolished. I managed to save a pair of wall light fittings made by
Best & Lloyd in gilded bronze with Lalique petals which were designed for the Paramount
Leeds circle foyer and still in perfect condition.
Ron
Providence managed to preserve a theatre masterwork. Too bad San Francisco did not have a Rapp & Rapp auditorium to restore. They are left with an Orpheum that has no lobby and a stage built into a corner. More bad luck with acoustics of their symphony hall of more recent construction. Everyone here talks about the old Fox which was large and grand and demolished.