State Journal-Register
When the Palace Theatre opened at 1836 S. 15th St. in 1915, the “very pretty little house” became a venue where downtown movies were brought to Springfield’s southeast side.
Despite its grand name, the theater was very small about the size of a modest two-bedroom home but it served as a social outlet for a burgeoning Eastern European enclave.
Emanuel Wycoff, an immigrant coal miner, operated the Palace. Wycoff whose last name originally was Wojkofka and his family were part of the Banat Swabian minority, a Romanian-German population tied to the larger community of Danube Swabians who lived in the area. The Wycoffs lived next door to the theater.