The first theatre in this building was originally named PASTIME and it was the first African American MOVIE Theater in Memphis.  It was opened by Sam Zerilla, a member of the Sousa Orchestra.  This is the same address as the Beale Palace which didn't open until 1920.  In 1919, two years after the Pastime closed, Anselmo Barrasso and the Pacini Brothers, Lorezzo and Angelo opened the Palace Theatre at this address.  They retained the original building as a lobby, used the upper floors for offices, and built an extension to the rear which contained the main part of the auditorium.  The third floor was removed in 1949, along with other changes.

The Pastime is listed continuously at 324 Beale in the Memphis Directories from 1909-1917.   The PALACE opened at the same address in 1920 and is listed in the directories from 1920 up to 1958.  We've not checked beyond that date.. 

Walter Bolton:  "In addition to movies the Palace featured stage shows and several famous entertainers got their start here.  WDIA had many shows here, often MC'd by Nat D. Williams or Rufus Thomas".

Dave French, Norcross GA:  "There was also an earlier PALACE at 135 Main Street which opened in 1907.  It was headquarters for Amicks Vaudeville Exchange and they had Vaudeville acts between films".

Stephen Huff:  "The Palace at 324 Beale first opened, I believe in 1920.  This is the first year that it appears in the city directory.  It was owned by the Barrasso family who ran several African-American vaudeville and movie theatres in the early 20th Century.  They started out with the Amuse-U theatre at 253 N. Main and the Savoy at 121 South Fourth around 1909.  From about 1913 to 1918, Anselmo Barrasso ran the Metropolitan Theatre at 336 Beale.  He then sold it to the Zerilla family, who opened a new theatre called The Venus at that address around 1920 - the same year that the Palace opened.  (The old Metropolitan Theatre must have been torn down or burned, because there is a photo of it in the Memphis Sun, and African-American newspaper, from December of 1913, and it definitely is not the same building that is pictured in the photo below of The Venus).  A year later, in 1921, Barrasso bought the Venus".