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Nearing its 100-year anniversary, the Hilo Palace Theater raises funds for an interior revitalization

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After 100 years of withstanding physical threats of tsunamis, hurricanes and volcano eruptions — as well as economic hardships from ownership changes and a pandemic — the Palace Theater in Hilo is undergoing a centennial refresh.

Hilo Palace Theater during its facade renovation in 2020. (File photo: Kelsey Walling)

On Oct. 26, 1925, the Palace Theater opened its doors under the ownership of Adam C. Baker, a well-known native Hawaiian showman. The Palace showed silent films accompanied live by the Palace Pipe Organ.

Today, the theater serves as a gathering place for Hilo, with a goal to entertain, educate and inspire those who step inside.

For the past 25 years, the nonprofit, Friends of the Palace Theater, has been working toward a clear mission: revitalizing, restoring and sustaining the Palace Theater as the iconic landmark that it is for the Big Island.

After more than 10 years of capital improvements — from the installation of air conditioning to the expansion of a solar array — Friends of the Palace Theater is now turning its efforts to the auditorium’s interior, which desperately is in need of care.

The Palace Theater Executive Director Phillips Payson is photographed in 2023. (File photo: Kelsey Walling)

“I have had my eyes on the centennial since I started at the Palace in 2018,” Executive Director Phillips Payson said. “It is an honor to be shepherding her through this momentous occasion.”

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Payson said the Palace has gone through a transformation in the past seven years.

“We’ve done so much,” he said, ticking off the projects: facade renovation during COVID, air condition installation in the auditorium, addition of two fans in the auditorium and upgrade of the tech booth.

And after this yearʻs interior restoration, Payson said: “The Palace will look the best it has ever looked since the 1920s or ’30s.”

The Palace was designed to take advantage of its limited property size and the stadium seating arrangement allowed for unobstructed sight lines, while giving the Palace a very spacious lobby. Decades before electronic sound amplification, the Palace was configured to produce excellent natural acoustics for live musical groups and drama.

Originally, the Palace sat more than 800 people, but seating was taken out of the back portion of the auditorium to allow for more room for the ever changing technology required to put on live performances. The theater now seats 485, including 82 seats available in the priority orchestra seating section and a newly expanded ADA section that can accommodate up to 15 guests.

The Palace Theater auditorium is seen on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Kelsey Walling/Big Island Now)
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To complete a majority of the interior by the centennial, the Palace is actively recruiting volunteers for volunteer days filled with painting and cleaning while also hiring professionals for projects like carpeting and restoring wood features.

Volunteers and skilled contractors will work on manageable projects such as removing carpet, stripping and repainting bannisters, and unifying and color matching wall panels.

The auditorium has a mix wood elements and light colors that look peach pink and mint green to match the hand-painted portions of the walls.

“Bins and shelves will be purchased to keep our backstage storage areas organized. Contractors will be hired to continue patching holes in the ceiling.”

According to Payson, the next volunteer day will be in August after the closing of the summer musical, “Cabaret.” Volunteer duties will include:

  • Painting the colors around the original hand-painted art
  • Replicating the same color on all the wooden panels
  • Consolidating tech equipment
  • Redoing the wooden bannisters along the stairs
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The nonprofit is asking for donations in the form of supplies — paint, brushes, scrapers, sandpaper, paint thinner, bins, shelves and more — and lunches for volunteers, which could be purchased from locally owned businesses.

They are also seeking donations to hire contractors for the carpet installation and to patch the holes in ceiling in the auditorium, which could cost more than $25,000 for the large one over the stage.

One of the holes is seen in the lobby of the Palace Theater in Hilo on July 10, 2025. (Kelsey Walling/Big Island Now)

“We have an active community fundraiser for fixing the holes in the ceiling, which requires a lot because we have to come at them from below,” Payson said. “It will require scaffolding and weʻll have to go dark for multiple days.”

On Wednesday, the Palace Theater announced the cast list for “The Wizard of Oz,” which will be the centennial fall musical production. Under the direction of Jackie Pualani Johnson, the timeless tale will be family-friendly and will run for three weekends, from Oct. 3 to 19.

The following weekend will be the four-day centennial celebration, including a red carpet and gala event on Oct. 23, a live music masquerade dance from 7 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 24, a music festival from 5 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 25, culminating on the centennial date, Oct. 26, with a silent movie showing of “Phantom of the Opera” with live music from organist Walter Greenwood.

“On the anniversary date, we want to honor the legacy of the Palace with a program that showcases the Palace as it was 100 years ago,” Payson said. “The entire weekend will honor every facet of how we exist out here and engage with every pocket of Hilo that comes through.”

To volunteer or to donate materials, labor or food as a business owner, email development@hilopalace.com, or call the box office at 808-934-7010.

To learn more about donating to the interior restoration campaign, visit the Palace Theater website.

Kelsey Walling
Kelsey Walling is a full-time reporter for Big Island Now and the Pacific Media Group.

She previously worked as a photojournalist for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald from 2020 to 2024, where she photographed daily news and sports and contributed feature stories.

Originally from Texas, Kelsey has made East Hawaiʻi her home and is excited to write news stories and features about the community and its people.
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