With the bold headline ?Magnificent New Tampa Theatre Opens Tonight,? The Tampa Morning Tribune celebrated opening night, October 15, 1926, with nine pages of coverage for the grand new ?motion picture palace.? It was as if the city was finally ?on the map.? Tampa now boasted one of America?s most beautiful theaters designed by one of the most famous theatre architects, John Eberson.Tampa Theatre set a new standard of excellence for entertainment in town with extravagant vaudeville shows, concerts by the Tampa Theatre Symphony Orchestra and silent films. It was the first public building with the new-fangled invention, ?air conditioning.? (Newspapers reported that people were flocking to the theater from miles around to feel what ?man-made air? felt like.) With the advent of sound pictures in 1929, Tampa Theatre presented all the latest Hollywood "talkies."For decades, Tampa Theatre remained a jewel and the centerpiece of Tampa?s cultural landscape. People grew up, stealing first kisses in the balcony, following war news with weekly newsreels, and celebrating life by coming back to Tampa Theatre week after week.By the 1960s and 70s, times had changed, and America?s flight to the suburbs was having a damaging effect on downtowns across the country. Hardest hit were the downtown movie palaces ? like Tampa Theatre ? which saw audiences dwindle and operating costs soar. Unfortunately, many of our nation?s finest movie palaces were destroyed because the land underneath them became more valuable as parking lots.In 1973, Tampa Theatre faced the same fate. Fortunately, rather than let our city?s namesake theater be demolished, the City of Tampa stepped in and assumed its long-term leases and provides maintenance support. The Arts Council of Hillsborough County agreed to manage and program the theater. Citizens volunteered and chipped in to help make Tampa Theatre a model for how to save an endangered theater.
711 Franklin St.
Tampa, Florida 33602
Events:
Tour Tampa Theater
Category: , 11:30:00, 2007-08-29 11:30:00
Tour Tampa Theater
Category: , 11:30:00, 2007-08-29 11:30:00
Deborah Harry
Category: , 20:30:00, 2007-11-17 20:30:00
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel is a Gainsville, FL, band that plays acoustic, alternative and pop rock.
Category: , 20:00:00, 2007-12-14 20:00:00
Queensryche
Queensryche is a rock band who has found fame and fortune with songs like 'Silent Lucidity' and 'Empire.'
Category: , 19:30:00, 2008-02-12 19:30:00