Picture Vernon: When the Palace Was Royalty

VERNON, CT — The latest image of the Picture Vernon series takes us back to about 1920 and the old Palace theater.

The Palace was located in the Rockville section of Vernon and the image is brought to us from the Vernon Historical Society archives.

The earliest photos of the Palace date back to about 1919, a year before this one was taken, historians tell us.

The heyday of the theater was in the 1950s, when Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Pitney played there with his "Genials."

"The Rockville Rocket" began honing his skills at the venue.

Records show the Palace was located on School Street, where the back parking lot of Rockville Superior Court is now.

Pitney worked as an usher there and the manager, Forrest Hull, took a liking to him. Hull let Pitney and his band, "Gene and the Genials," practice at the Palace, perform there and even offered coaching.

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Picture Vernon is a periodic series featuring images of the town, past and present.