|
History
 Built in 1926 as one
of America's most elaborate "movie palaces", the Tampa Theatre
today is a fiercely protected and generously supported landmark.
Designed by famed theatre architect John Eberson, the Tampa
is a superior example of the "atmospheric" style of theatre
design. Inside the Tampa, audiences are transported to a
lavish, romantic Mediterranean courtyard replete with old world
statuary, flowers, and gargoyles. Over it all is a nighttime
sky with twinkling stars and floating clouds.
 Like other new movie
palaces around the country, the Tampa Theatre was enormously
popular. For the first time in history, the common person
had access to opulence on a scale never before imagined. For
10 cents, they could escape into a fantasy land for two hours,
see first class entertainment, and be treated like royalty
by uniformed platoons of ushers and attendants. By the end
of the 1920's, over 90 million Americans were going to the
movies every week.
 For several decades,
the Tampa remained a jewel and the centerpiece of Tampa 's
cultural landscape. People grew up, stole their first kisses
in the balcony, followed the weekly newsreels, and celebrated
life week after week by coming back to the Tampa.
But by the 1960's and
70's, times had changed. America 's flight to suburbs was
having a damaging effect on downtown business districts across
the country. Hardest hit were the downtown movie palaces which
dotted America's urban landscapes.
Audiences dwindled and costs rose. Many of our nation's finest
movie palaces were quickly demolished before anyone noticed
because the land beneath them became more valuable than the
theatre operation.
 In 1973, the Tampa
Theatre faced the same fate. But in Tampa citizens rallied.
Committees were formed. City leaders became involved, and
soon a deal was reached to have the City rescue the Tampa
by assuming its leases. The Arts Council of Hillsborough County
agreed to program and manage the Tampa with films, concerts
and special events. By the time the Theatre reopened in early
1978, the Tampa had become something of a national model on
how to save an endangered theatre.
 Today, Tampa Theatre
is a remarkable success story, presenting and hosting over
600 events a year. With a full schedule of first run and classic
films, concerts, special events, corporate events and tours,
the theatre is one of the most heavily utilized venues of
its kind in the United States.
Since its reopening,
over 2 million guests have enjoyed film events, over 800,000
have attended concerts, and over 700,000 elementary children
have enjoyed professional touring theatre productions in the
context of one of Tampa 's largest historic preservation projects.
 Private support is
critical to the Theatre's continued success and service to
the community. In spite of its successes, the Theatre only
earns about 65 % of its annual operating budget through earned
income. The non-profit Tampa Theatre Foundation helps to make
up difference by through memberships, special fundraising
events, sponsorships and planned giving programs.
Tampa Theatre was named
to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is a
Tampa City Landmark, and is a member of the League of Historic
American Theatres.
Click below to view Tampa Tribune photographer Jim Reed's interactive panoramic image of Tampa Theatre http://tour.tbo.com/tour/stops/tampatheatre.htm
 About 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
Fast Facts About Tampa Theatre
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 million
First Movie: "The Ace of Cads" starring Adolph Menjou (silent film)
Ticket Price for opening night 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: about 1,400
Programming: specialty film, classic movies, concerts, special events, corporate events, field trips, weddings, graduations, production location, tours |
aBOUT TAMPA THEATRE