Tampa Theatre

Overview

Tampa Theatre is a historic movie palace in downtown Tampa. Designed by theater architect John Eberson and built by Paramount Pictures, it opened on October 15, 1926, as one of America's most elaborate movie palaces. Today it is managed by the nonprofit Tampa Theatre, Inc. and opens its doors more than 1,000 times a year for first-run and classic films, live concerts, special events, tours, and educational programs.

The Atmospheric Style

Tampa Theatre was built three years into Eberson's "atmospheric" period — a style known for its realistic night sky, twinkling stars, and ornate architecture meant to transport audiences to a moonlit courtyard with clay-tile rooftops, old-world statuary, exotic birds, and lush flora. On the theater's opening day, Eberson told the Tampa Tribune that the idea came to him while wintering in Florida, inspired by the scenes he saw in Miami, Palm Beach, and Tampa. According to his own writings, Tampa Theatre was his favorite among the atmospheric theaters he built, and it remains the world's most complete and best-preserved example of the style.

Saved from Demolition

When it opened, 25 cents bought an escape into an opulent fantasyland cooled by "man-made air," with first-class entertainment and uniformed ushers. By the 1950s, the move to the suburbs and the arrival of television had emptied many downtown movie palaces, and in 1973 Tampa Theatre was slated for demolition. Citizens rallied, and the City Council struck a deal to purchase and preserve the building. The theater reopened in January 1977, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and became a Tampa City Landmark in 1988.

Since its rescue, Tampa Theatre has welcomed more than 5 million visitors, including 1 million schoolchildren on field trips and at summer camps. In June 2024, it opened the first expansion in its history: a 43-seat microcinema in the storefront next to the historic Franklin Street Box Office.

The Mighty Wurlitzer

The theater's 1,400-pipe Mighty Wurlitzer organ was installed in 1926 to accompany silent films. After "talkies" took over in the early 1930s, it was retired and sold to Bayshore Baptist Church. In the 1980s, volunteers from the Central Florida Theatre Organ Society helped reacquire it and reinstall it in its original home. Today it is played before film screenings and at special silent film events.

Getting There

Tampa Theatre is on Franklin Street between Zack and Polk streets. It has no parking of its own: metered street parking, city lots and garages nearby, and two privately operated lots next to the theater are available. Vehicles with a valid disabled permit or license plate may park at on-street meters for up to four hours at no charge.