Silver and blue wallpaper covered the lobby walls, and shiny new doors with circular viewports were installed at both auditorium entrances which effectively blocked out lobby and street noise. Gone was the worn red carpet now replaced by a newly-tiled floor. The drab lobby was completely redone giving it a bright, modern retro-1960’s look. So in preparation for the big event the Florida Theatre closed for renovations. It was also announced that the Florida Theatre will close for remodeling soon, and will convert to a new policy of playing first run features along with the Tampa Theatre and Palace Theatre. The film had been booked for an April opening at the Florida Theatre. In February of 1962, Florida State Theatres announced that the Florida Theatre had been selected as the theatre that will feature the exclusive west coast engagement of "West Side Story" which had just won 10 Academy Awards. And of course the proscenium was forever hidden from view. This screen was totally bare - no main curtain nor side curtains. This new screen stretched from the edge of the left exit doorway, and across the front of the proscenium to the edge of the right exit doorway giving the Florida Theatre a CinemaScope capability. Towards the later-1950’s a new wider screen replaced the older one. The stage was hidden from view with the arrival of sound when a larger screen and speakers were installed within the proscenium. In the early "silent film" days the Florida Theatre had a proscenium and a small stage. The side walls in the auditorium were painted light brown from bottom to midway up, and light beige from midpoint upwards. Of course this did very little in preventing outside noise from the lobby or Franklin Street from entering the auditorium. There were no doors at the auditorium entrances, only a curtain on a swinging rod that was swung open during intermission and closed while the show was in progress. I do remember the red carpet was showing some signs of wear. As best as I can recall the walls were plain, sans any fancy decoration or artwork. When the lights went down and the film began our hands went up over our eyes - it was scary as heck! And of course I couldn’t sleep that night.Īlthough it was fairly neat and clean the lobby was rather drab looking. After what seemed like ages I finally managed to convince him, and my friend & I bought our tickets and headed for the balcony. He was concerned it might be too scary for two 10-year-old kids, and that I’d surely have trouble sleeping at night. My father drove a friend and I down to the Florida Theatre and we stood in front of the theatre looking at the poster for "The Mummy" while I begged my father to let me go in. But it was "The Mummy" that I was really anxious to see. The double feature that day was "The Mummy" (the 1959 color version with Christopher Lee) and a western called "Money, Women, and Guns". I vividly recall my first visit to the Florida Theatre in 1960.
In the early 1960’s admission was 20 cents for kids, and 60 cents for adults (same as the Ritz Theatre in Ybor City). Many Saturday matinees featured 3 extra cartoons in addition to the daily features.
The Florida Theatre was remodeled in 1947, to the plans of Jacksonville bassed architectural firm Kemp, Bunch & Jackson.Ī friend tells me he spent many Saturday afternoons seated in the last row of the balcony up against the projection booth watching B-westerns. By the 1950’s it came under the ownership of ABC Florida State Theatres. The 19 editions of Film Daily Yearbook lists the Florida Theatre with 853 seats and operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. It opened Februand there isd an old photo of the building dated 1924. The Franklin Theatre was a small non-descript theatre sandwiched between the Citizens Bank Building on the left and O'Falks Department Store on the right.
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