Stamford Center for the Arts

With 1,580 seats, the Palace Theatre at 61 Atlantic was originally a vaudeville venue designed by Thomas W. Lamb and opened in 1927. In 1983, it was refurbished and reopened for live theatre, concerts, and art exhibits. The Palace Theatre now boasts a larger stage, new dressing rooms, new technical-support facilities, and improved services thanks to a multi-phase redevelopment project that was just completed.

Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra, Stamford Symphony Orchestra, New England Lyric Operetta, Ballet School of Stamford, Young Artist Philharmonic, Lumina String Quartet, Zig Zag Ballet, and The Perry Players all perform during the Rich Forum and Palace Theatre seasons.

Lily Tomlin, Peter, Paul & Mary, Tom Jones, B.B. King, Carrot Top, Harry Belafonte, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Griffin, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, and Judy Collins have all performed at the theaters.

The Grand Opera House and The Strand Theatre (Part I) During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Grand Opera House was housed on the current site of the Palace Theatre. Mortimer and Dr. Philip H. Brown, a dentist who had an office on the second story of the building, built the Grand Opera House in 1892-1893. For a long time, the Opera House was Stamford's only theater. It was first open to the public in December of 1893.

Two devastating fires struck Stamford in 1904. In January of that year, the Town Hall was destroyed, and in November of that year, the Grand Opera House was also destroyed. Only the outside walls remained after the structure had been entirely gutted.