Tampa Theatre opened Oct. 15, 1926, and marked its 100th birthday with Buster Keaton, the Wurlitzer and the 1812 Overture in its restored auditorium.

Tampa Theatre turned 100 on Oct. 15. The downtown movie palace opened on Oct. 15, 1926, and it marked the day with a birthday party inside its newly restored auditorium.

Updated Oct. 22: this story was first published on the morning of the anniversary. It now describes the celebration in the past tense.

The theater was designed by architect John Eberson and built by Paramount Pictures, according to the theater’s history page. A ticket cost 25 cents.

It nearly did not make it past 50. In 1973 the building was slated for demolition. Residents rallied, and the Tampa City Council struck a deal to buy and preserve it. It reopened in January 1977.

The birthday party

The theater says its Centennial Celebration was a thank-you to the community that rescued the building 50 years ago. Here is the schedule it published for the night:

  • 6 p.m.: the party starts on the sidewalk on Franklin Street, with live music and swing dancing from The Jazz Phools and portraits in front of the marquee. The theater encourages 1920s dress.
  • Inside: complimentary champagne and a souvenir program modeled on the 1926 opening-night original.
  • 7 p.m.: remarks from theater officers and Tampa’s mayor.
  • The film: the 1924 Buster Keaton silent comedy “Sherlock Jr.,” with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and the theater’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
  • The finale: Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” which was also on the opening-night bill in 1926.

Reserved seats were $26 plus taxes and fees, and the theater’s book page listed the evening as sold out. The City of Tampa’s events calendar also listed a free Tampa Theatre 100th celebration at the theater from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

A restored auditorium for the birthday

The theater set out to fully restore the building in time for the anniversary. Its restoration page says:

  • The first phase of its Second Century Campaign totals $24.5 million.
  • The 1,238-seat Duncan Auditorium closed from March 10 through the end of September.
  • Artists worked from scaffolding across every wall and the starry ceiling to restore the paint and plaster.
  • More than 3,000 square feet of offices and storage on the Florida Avenue side are being turned into classrooms for a new education wing.

The theater says its members were the first to see the restored auditorium, at a members-only party.

The ceiling of the Tampa Theatre auditorium, painted dark blue to look like a night sky, with small lights for stars above ornate plaster walls.
The night-sky ceiling inside the Tampa Theatre auditorium. The picture was taken before the restoration. Photo: MatthewHoobin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A century in numbers

From the theater’s own history and about pages:

Year What happened
1926 Opens Oct. 15, designed by John Eberson and built by Paramount Pictures
1973 Slated for demolition; City Council agrees to buy and preserve it
1977 Reopens to the public in January
1978 Named to the National Register of Historic Places
1988 Named a Tampa City Landmark when the designation is created
2024 Opens a 43-seat screening room next to the Franklin Street box office in June, its first expansion
2026 Restores the Duncan Auditorium and turns 100

Since the rescue, the theater says, it has welcomed more than 5 million visitors downtown. That includes 1 million schoolchildren on field trips and at summer camps. The nonprofit Tampa Theatre Inc. runs the building today, and the theater says it opens its doors more than 1,000 times a year.

The Florida idea behind the stars

Eberson’s style was called “atmospheric”: a realistic night sky with twinkling stars over what looks like a Mediterranean courtyard. The theater’s history page quotes him in the Tampa Tribune on opening day, saying Florida gave him the idea.

“I have been wintering in Florida for the past several years, and it is from this state that I got the atmospheric idea,” Eberson said.

More birthday events

  • The book: “Tampa Theatre: A Century of Stories,” by historian Andrew Huse, came out Sept. 22 from University Press of Florida. The 272-page book has more than 200 illustrations and sells for $30, including at the theater’s concession stand.
  • Classic films: the theater’s October “Big Picture: A Century of Stories” series ends with “The Third Man” on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

What it means for you

  • Any film or show at the theater this fall is a chance to see the restored auditorium.
  • The theater is at 711 N. Franklin St. For parking downtown, see getting around Tampa, and for the rest of the week, see things to do in Tampa.