Peek behind the curtain of a Gold Rush era theatre
Oct 15, 2026
There's a lot of work that goes into maintaining
and preserving these historic buildings.
Now we're going to peek behind this curtain
and take a look inside one that is preserved.
So I have Spruce and Janice here
and show us what makes this building so special if
you could.
Let's go behind the curtain.
Let's go.
Let's go.
It's a big reveal.
I like a big reveal like this.
This is kind of the crown jewel in restorations
for Klondike National Historic Sites in Dawson.
actually a replica of an original building
that was built here in 1899 by
Arizona Charlie Meadows
and it was rebuilt dismantled and rebuilt piece by
piece in 1960 to be an exact replica
of what this theater looked like on opening
night, July 17, 1899.
And three stories in Dawson is unheard of.
The elegance and the craftsmanship
in this theater was also very intentional to show prosperity,
to attract clientele,
to basically fleece them of all of their gold dust.
Easiest way to make money in a gold rush
is to open a saloon or a gambling hall
or a mercantile store and that's how a lot of people
profited off of this gold rush
and so Palace Grand was open from 6 p.m till midnight you could
gamble in the foyer you could imbibe in alcoholic beverages
and you could see a variety show
that began nightly until midnight that was a mix
of juggling acts song and dance the beginnings of
vaudeville displays of athletic prowess boxing
boxing matches dancing bears um it was kind of
anything goes yes and the idea was to fill
the theater night after night provide a little bit
of respite from the difficulties in toiling
in the frozen ground searching for gold but
mainly to fill the pockets of the proprietors
and it was operational for a short period of time
after the restoration in 1960
the the community sort of took over the theater and
today Dawson City Music Festival takes over
the theater in July high school graduation occurs
here several people have had
their wedding receptions here conferences and of course
daily tours with Parks Canada
but we try as best we can to utilize the theater as much as we can
because the acoustics are incredible the the the chance
to perform on this stage i think is a
very meaningful to musicians and actors alike
and so just trying to keep that that spirit of
culture and creativity alive
and the Klondike is what's important about keeping this thing standing.