Built in 1925 as a silent-film house and the only Art Deco building in Georgetown; after 64 years as a movie theater it was saved by preservationists in 1991 and reports a former projectionist's presence and unexplained temperature drops.
810 S Austin Ave, Georgetown, TX 78626
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by production; see the venue website for current schedule and pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic downtown theater; accessible seating available.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1925 · Only Art Deco building in Georgetown, Texas · Oldest continuously operating movie theater in Williamson County (1926–1989) · Williamson County Courthouse Historic District
A. C. Moore of Bartlett, Texas built the theater at 810 South Austin Avenue in Georgetown, and it opened in February 1926 as a venue for silent films. From the beginning it functioned as a community gathering place at the center of Georgetown's downtown, drawing audiences from Williamson County.
In 1936, owners Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Englebrecht undertook a three-day renovation that transformed the original buff brick exterior into the Art Deco facade the building retains today. The Georgetown Heritage Society has documented this as the only Art Deco building in Georgetown. The theater later upgraded to sound equipment for talking pictures and operated as a first-run and second-run movie house for decades.
By 1989, competition from suburban multiplexes made the single-screen operation unsustainable. When it closed as a cinema that year, the Palace was the oldest continuously operating movie theater in Williamson County. Georgetown Palace Theatre, Inc. — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed by concerned citizens — closed on the building purchase in 1991. After a major renovation, the historic venue reopened in 2001 as a live theater presenting a year-round season of musicals, comedies, and dramatic productions. The Austin American-Statesman ranked it the best live entertainment venue in its 2017 Best of Georgetown awards.
Sources
The Georgetown Palace Theatre appears consistently in regional ghost tour listings as one of the downtown area's haunted stops. The reported phenomena center on the projection booth and main auditorium: tour operators and the Ghosts of Old Georgetown Walking Tour describe unexplained temperature drops inside the building, lights flickering or switching on and off without cause, and the reported apparition of a man believed to be a former projectionist from the theater's cinema era.
The projectionist account is the most specific recurring claim. No historical record of an identified individual or specific death at the theater has been publicly documented, and the story appears to have circulated primarily through tour operator accounts rather than primary historical sources. The Georgetown Megaphone, Southwestern University's student paper, noted the Palace among old downtown buildings with 'stories of unusual occurrences' in a March 2026 article about Georgetown's haunted history.
In 2023 the theater hosted a Paranormal Night event featuring Stephen Belyeu, host of the Night Owl podcast, who focuses on first-person ghost investigation accounts. The event, documented by CultureMap Austin, centered on Belyeu's experiences at Williamson County's historic buildings.
The theater's uninterrupted century of continuous public operation, its role as the dominant social gathering place for mid-century Georgetown, and the inherent acoustics and atmosphere of a sealed projection booth have kept the paranormal reputation active even as the building now serves a live theater function.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Palace Theatre is a stop on third-party ghost walking tours of downtown Georgetown. Tour operators including Spell Caster Ghost Tours and the Ghosts of Old Georgetown Walking Tour cite the theater among the historic district's haunted locations.
Attend a scheduled production in the restored 1925 building, the only Art Deco structure in Georgetown and the longest continuously operating movie theater in Williamson County at the time of its closure as a cinema in 1989.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Waco, TX
The Waco Hippodrome opened February 7, 1914, designed by Waco architect Roy E. Lane and Dallas architects Otto Land and Frank Witchell. Managed by entrepreneur Earl Henry Hulsey, it was known locally as 'Hulsey's Hipp.' A fire in the production booth in 1928 destroyed the forward section; it was rebuilt in 1929 in Spanish Colonial Revival style and reopened as the Waco Theatre.
Houston, TX
The Alley Theatre company was founded in 1947 by Nina Vance in a repurposed Houston dance studio. The current building at 615 Texas Avenue opened October 13, 1968, designed by Ulrich Franzen in a Brutalist style with curved concrete walls and no right angles. On January 13, 1982, managing director Iris Siff was murdered in her office by Clifford X. Phillips, a former Alley security guard. A wrongful-death suit against the theater's security firm was settled in 1984.
Granbury, TX
The Granbury Opera House opened in 1886 on the town square. Ground-floor storefronts originally housed a saloon, a saddle shop, and a grocery store, while the upper floor hosted vaudeville and theatrical performances. After decades of decline, the Granbury Opera Association acquired the building in 1972. A $3.5 million renovation completed in 2012 restored the theater to operational condition, and it has been home to the Granbury Theatre Company ever since.