For decades, the ghost of the Palace Theater was a complete mystery, but we now believe the true identity of this spirit may have been solved.

A century ago, the strip on 4th Avenue was known as “Movie Row.” Grand movie theaters like the Rialto, the Casino, and others used to line this street. The Palace Theater was considered one of the finest. It cost over a million dollars when it opened in 1928 originally named the Loews Theater. John Eberson was the architect and was inspired by Spanish Revival in its design. The ceilings on the interior were painted to look like open night skies with white fluffy clouds, birds and glittering stars. The building changed hands a number of times, and by the mid eighties the theatre was empty with its future uncertain. 

In 1991 it was purchased by The Sunshine Theatre Company from Indianapolis and they restored the theater to its current state. 

It is now owned by LiveNation and is a venue for live acts. In recent years the 2800 seat theater has seen musicians like Jackson Browne and Tori Amos as well as comedians Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler and more.

The restoration of the building in 1991 was a massive task. Construction workers labored busily on the site. During this time several of the workers reported seeing a strange man around the theatre. He was always described as wearing worker’s coveralls, old‐fashioned thick framed glasses and a 1950’s style flattop haircut. From the stage, some of the witnesses saw him in the balcony, leaning over the rail as if he were admiring the repairs going on. One worker said that he was on a scaffolding, had fallen asleep by accident. He was awakened by a soft whisper in his ear, “wake up.” The man woke up to see that he was lying on the edge of the scaffolding. He believed that the ghost had saved his life. 

Others have told of seeing a door open, hearing footsteps cross the room accompanied by an almost cheerful whistle, as if an invisible man were making his late night rounds through the building. There are constantly maintenance problems which employees have attributed to the ghost. Workers would often return from work to find their heavy equipment and tools moved to various areas in the building. 

There was a particular area of the theatre where the sawhorses were located, and piles of sawdust lined the floors. On several occasions, workers claimed that they would be sawing away, and would glance down to see an amazing sight. The sawdust beneath them would begin to move, and soon it would become clear that letters were being formed. It was as if some unseen finger were drawing in the sawdust. The name “Ferdinand” would appear. Since 1991 others have had similar experiences finding the name written in the dust in the basement. Speculation about the ghost’s identity has run rampant. 

Some believe that he is the ghost of a former projectionist from the 1930s named Barney. Barney had become ill, and was being carried out of the theatre on a stretcher. Coming down the steep stairs from the balcony, the stretcher was dropped breaking his back and killing him. Employees suspect he is the source of the haunting because a dark shadowy figure often appears in the projection booth where Barney would have worked. He is viewed as a prankster by current employees, pulling ponytails, breaking projectors and slamming doors. 

There is another possibility though. In 1965, there was a man named Fred Frisch that had worked here as the chief engineer since the theatre opened in 1928. In 1965, he was found dead in the basement from a heart attack. Even today his picture hangs in his old office in the basement. The picture is of a man with a flattop and thick, black glasses. And as it turns out, Fred’s name was not short for Frederick or Alfred. It was short for Ferdinand, the same name that had been seen in the sawdust years earlier.



What do you think? Is this the ghost of Ferdinand or Barney?

Happy Haunting,

Frank