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Contact Tara Schroeder at 813-274-8287
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Contents
Contact - Tampa Theatre Blurb - Press Releases - Photos - Facts At A Glance - History - Tampa Theatre Architect John Eberson - Tampa Theatre In The News
Contact
Tampa Theatre
Street address: 711 Franklin Street Tampa, FL 33602
Mailing address: P.O. Box 172188, Tampa, FL 33672-0188
Phone: 813-274-8286
Fax: 813-274-8978
Email: gargoyles@tampatheatre.org
www.tampatheatre.org
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Tampa Theatre Blurb
Chosen by LIFE magazine as one of "America's 21 Wonders," Tampa Theatre is one of America's best-preserved examples of grand movie palace architecture. A beloved community treasure since 1926, the Theatre was rescued from demolition in 1978 and today hosts 650 events annually including first run and classic films, concerts by touring artists, community events, summer camps and school field trips. A not-for-profit organization, Tampa Theatre succeeds only because of the generosity of the greater Tampa Bay community. Memberships, sponsorships and philanthropic gifts help support the Theatre's artistic and educational programs and keep the facility open and accessible year round.
The Theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a Tampa City Landmark, and is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres.
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Press Releases
LIFE Designates Tampa Theatre as one of “America's 21 Wonders"
Tampa Theatre to Undergo Renovations on DIY Network
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Photos
Each small image is linked to a high-resolultion image. Simply, click on the photo to open hi-res image, then use the "save as" button on your computer to save the image to your computer.
Click below to view Tampa Tribune photographer Jim Reed's interactive paroramic image of Tampa Theatre: htttp://tour.tbo.com/tour/stops/tampatheatre.htm
 
photo credit photo credit
George Cott/Chroma Inc. George Cott/Chroma Inc.
photo credit
Stephanie Klavens
 
photo credit photo credit
Robertson-Fresh Collection/USF Tampa Theatre Archives
 
photo credit photo credit
Gordon Myhre, Grown Man Films Gordon Myhre, Grown Man Films
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Facts at a Glance
Opened: October 15, 1926
Architect: John Eberson
Architectural Style: Florida Mediterranean (includes
touches of Italian
Renaissance, Byzantine,
Spanish, Mediterranean, Greek Revival, Baroque, and English
Tudor)
Original Construction Cost: $1.2 million
Construction Time: 1 year
Restoration Costs,
to date: $2.5 million
First Movie: "The Ace of Cads" starring Adolph Menjou
(silent)
Ticket Price for first movie: 25 cents
Acquired by the City of Tampa: 1976
Named to the National Register of Historic Places:
1978
Declared a Tampa City Landmark: 1988
Managed by: The Arts Council of Hillsborough County
Longest Employment Tenure: 45 years 1926-71 (Blondelle
Gladney, box office cashier)
Number of Seats: 1,446
Number of events annually: 650
Average Annual Attendance: 135,000
Number of stars in auditorium ceiling: 99
Number of tiles on the lobby floor: 245,185
Number of Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ pipes: nearly
1,400
Programming: specialty film, classic movies, concerts,
special events, corporate events, educational programs, field
trips, digital filmmaking summer camp, weddings, graduations, production
location, tours
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History
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.
Today, Tampa Theatre is a remarkable
success story. Open year-round with a full schedule of film, concerts,
special events, corporate events and tours, the theater is one of the most
heavily utilized venues of its kind in the United States.
Since 1977, over 1.5 million people
have attended film events, over 700,000 people have attended live concerts,
and over 600,000 school children have attended cultural field trips.
Private support is provided through
the Theatre's foundation, Tampa Theatre, Inc. Funds for programming, maintenance
and restoration are derived from ticket sales, concessions, rental fees,
memberships and donations. Additional support is provided by grants from
the City of Tampa and the Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida
Department of State.
Tampa Theatre is listed in the National
Register of Historic Places, is a Tampa City Landmark, and
is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres.
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Tampa Theatre Architect John Eberson
Tampa Theatre was created by architectural designer John Eberson,
one of the most prolific and internationally renowned movie
palace designers of his time. His movie palaces are in Miami;
New York; Chicago; Canton, Ohio; Houston and Austin, Texas;
Paris, France; Sydney, Australia and many other cities. Eberson was born in Romania, attended The University of Vienna
in 1893, and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. While his early
theater commissions could be characterized as traditional,
by the mid-1910s Eberson had clearly forged a new direction
with the Dallas Majestic Theatre (1917). His first truly atmospheric
theater was the Houston Majestic (1923).
John Eberson tells how Florida inspired
his atmospheric theatre design:
"I have been wintering in Florida
for the past several years, and it is from this state that I got the atmospheric
idea. I was impressed with the colorful scenes that greeted me at
Miami, Palm Beach and Tampa. Visions of Italian gardens, Spanish patios,
Persian shrines and French formal gardens flashed through my mind, and
at once I directed my energies to carrying out these ideas." -The
Tampa Tribune, October 15, 1926
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Tampa Theatre in the News
THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: 89 Year Old Agnes Rice Reminisces About Visiting Tampa Theatre Barefoot in 1926. 6/28/09
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Travel Section 12/9/05
THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: Tara Schroeder 12/9/05
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
For the "Only in Tampa" series, Trib writer Kurt Loft beautifully captured the essence of Tampa Theatre's special place in our community. Click here to read the rest.
CREATIVE LOAFING 2/22/06
She improvs with age -- A gift for improvisation has carried organist Rosa Rio through a century of change. By Cooper Cruz
Legendary organist Rosa Rio sits at the concert grand piano in her living room and plays a buoyant tune she's written for a scene in Beyond the Rocks, a long-lost silent film. Click here to read the rest.
CREATIVE LOAFING BEST OF THE BAY
Best Reason for a Film Lover to Live in Tampa: Tampa Theatre "...Tampa Theatre is a breath of fresh air. It's a gorgeous space, oozing history and class, filled with weirdly exotic bric-a-brac and funky little nooks and crannies..." Click here to read the rest.
Best Summer Camp for Kids: KidsMakeMovies at Tampa Theatre "... KidsMakeMovies teaches budding filmmakers the gist of movie magic..." Click here to read the rest.
MSNBC.COM
Tampa Theatre Tops Spooky Sights Worth Seeing List from an indpendenttraveler.com story on msnbc.com... "Sure, we all love telling a good horror story around a crackling fire, but why not hit the road and experience the chills and thrills firsthand?" Click here to read the rest of the story.
USA TODAY
In a USA Today feature, Tampa Theatre was named one of 10 great places in the country to revel in cinematic grandeur. Click here to read the article.
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