Curtain comes down on the Palace

Now the Palace Theatre, which in its heyday attracted some of the country's top performers, is in a desperately tatty condition and awaits only the attentions of the developer's bulldozer.

The final curtain is set to come down on the Kirkgate building built in 1909 as the owners have served a demolition notice.

Hallco 1127, a London-based development company, hopes to clear the site as part of plans for an expansion of the nearby Kingsgate shopping centre.

Huddersfield Civic Society has described the loss of the iconic building as sad while members of the local theatre community have said it is an important part of the town's theatrical heritage.

Chris Marsden, the society's listing and conservation officer, said: "We will be greatly disappointed to lose the facade. We always thought it would have been stunning if the facade and roof lantern had been restored and enhanced.

''But it is not a listed building and it is not a planning condition that the facade should be retained. It's an important part of our townscape and is one of the architect's last surviving theatres."

He was eager to stress that the society had no particular objection to the building's redevelopment and no wish to try to revive the building as a theatre since the last thing the town's Lawrence Batley theatre needs is any competition.

The imposing theatre was originally built as a music hall by Horsfall and Sons in 1909 with ornate decorative plasterwork and an auditorium capacity of 1,614 people. It was badly damaged when a fire broke out during a production on January 23, 1936.

It was substantially rebuilt in Art Deco style by Ronald Satchwell, at a cost 45,000 and today is one of the last surviving examples of his work. It reopened on March 1, 1937 and at the time had 1,210 seats.

Mr Marsden added: "I know it has been neglected and in its current state is not very appealing, but I do regard it as an asset to the streetscape, particularly in its relation to buildings like the parish church with its gothic tower.

"When the building was new it must have been an very glamorous building and such an exciting place for people to go and see these variety acts.

''It had these incredible vertical columns of windows with glazing bars across the whole piece. None of that is apparent today.

"It will still be a fond memory in many peoples' minds, but they would have to be in their 70s or 80s to remember it in its heyday.

John Lockwood, vice-chairman of Huddersfield Civic Society, said: "I went to see the shows in the 1940s when I was about eight. It was a bit of a family tradition and my grandparents would take me on a Saturday.

"I remember thinking it was a very grand building and that there was always a very good illusionist.

"It had all the well-known performers and was always busy, there was no TV and that was the entertainment."

As audiences dwindled, the theatre closed. It reopened in 1959 as a cabaret theatre.

In 1969 it became a bingo hall before being converted into a Chicago Rock Cafe nightclub in 1997 and later Club Society.

The dress circle and upper circle still remain and despite the changes of use and painting over the tall windows, the exterior remains little altered.

A return to use as a theatre was ruled out with the development of the Lawrence Batley Theatre and in 2008 the building was included in plans for the Kingsgate 2 expansion project.

A spokesman for Hallco confirmed a notice had been served but stressed that no timetable had been drawn up. He said the site was an integral part of plans for any Kingsgate expansion.