We’ve been planning a major Palladium renovation for at least four years. We’ve been actively raising money for the project for three years. And now, finally, the project is about to start.
Our last show was on July 31, in anticipation of a Aug. 1 start. Of course, in construction projects like this, nothing happens exactly on time. We now expect the work to begin closer to September 1.
The Palladium building and our east parking lots will be fenced off to form a designated construction site. We are told the theater can reopen 12 months after the project starts. Fingers crossed that’s how it goes.
The project was always focused on seating, sightlines and acoustics, and includes new seats, an acoustic ceiling, with sound dampening curtains, a re-raked balcony and several other improvements. We are not touching any of the historic elements of the building.
This project came about with help of a small army of private donors and support from government agencies, including Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the State of Florida, and the City of St. Petersburg.
What we had hoped would be a $10.5 million project swelled to a $11.6 million when the bids came in. We swallowed hard and found the money. There’s also a $1 million state grant that will replace windows and add acoustic shutters in Hough Hall. And during the construction, St. Petersburg College will replace the Palladium’s aging roof.
If you haven’t supported this project, it’s not too late. There are still naming rights available. We are selling naming plaques for our new seats. And we’re actively raising money to replenish our Friends of the Palladium Annual Fund.
To donate, explore the buttons below, or write to me at: wi**********@*******ge.edu.
I recently spoke with Bill DeYoung of St. Pete Catalyst about the renovation project and the future of the Palladium.
The story appears below. To read it at the Catalyst site, and to hear the podcast, please follow this link.
Arts Alive! podcast: Palladium Theater director Paul Wilborn
By Bill DeYoung
Published July 30, 2026
And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain ….
With apologies to Paul Anka, who wrote “My Way,” it’s not really a final curtain. Nothing so dramatic.
In the case of Paul Wilborn, who’s been the executive director of St. Petersburg’s Palladium Theater since 2007, it’s more of a metaphorical curtain, anyway. And it’s coming down at the conclusion of Act One.
Following tonight’s sold-out jazz concert with Bryan J. Hughes & The Crew in the Side Door Cabaret, the Palladium’s small-ish downstairs room, the entire facility will be shutting down. For a year.
Wilborn, who did it his way, and will continue to do so, guests on today’s Arts Alive! podcast to chat about the closure – it’s for much-needed and long-awaited renovations – and what it might mean for the Palladium’s legion of regular customers, the bay area performing artists who call it home, and for the Big Boss Man himself.
“We’ve been working at this for three years,” Wilborn explains. “It really does need to happen. And the good news is, we needed to raise about 10.5, 11 million dollars, and we exceeded that. And we had to get real money in the bank, because it’s not something you can just do on credit.
“So the hard work for me was raising that money. And that’s what kept me up at night.”
The renovations focus on “seating, sightlines and audience experience” in the building which is 101 years old. “It’s going to be a big change,” he admits, “but I’m excited about it.”
Coming in 2027: Act Two.
Follow this link to listen to the conversation.
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