Eberson set out to create a Mediterranean village with stucco walls topped with painted beams and gargoyles. Every surface sports texture and color and the stage itself is hung with velvet draperies. A stuffed peacock looks down from the richly lit balconies and the ceiling looks like the sky with stars overhead. Even the bathrooms are tiled and mirrored opulently.
Tampa residents have enjoyed visiting this movie palace for almost 100 years because in addition to the splendor of the decor, the Tampa Theatre was the first air-conditioned building in town. You can only imagine how the escapism of sound, imagery and cold air beckoned to the locals with an ultimate escape.
Over the years, the theater’s popularity surged, then ebbed, from being "the finest theatre in the state" to a seedy location with sticky floors and second-run movies. When faced with demolition in 1975, only one vote from Tampa City Council saved it from the wrecking ball.
Lee Duncan, a councilmember whose family had been in the theater business, argued successfully for the city to purchase the building for $1 and the restoration work began. Many of the original decorations like tapestries and stuffed birds were sold off, but some were saved.
The late Joan Jennewein, who founded Tampa Preservation, Inc. rallied public support for the Theatre and gathered supporters to inventory and clean the remaining furnishings. At this time the Theatre was managed by the Arts Council, then under the City of Tampa's staff.
In 1985, a young professional, John Bell, moved to Tampa from his position with the North Carolina Theatre and started to build an audience for the movie house. He was aided greatly by the help of Mark Sena who secured the donation of 36mm film equipment which allowed Bell to show first run films (full disclosure: Mark and I have been happily married for 37 years).
The audience grew and in addition to movies, the theater booked speakers, concerts and comics. There was a conflict between the film distributors, who wanted the theater to book a solid run of a "hot" film several months in the future and Tampa Theatre’s need to grab a lucrative offer of a concert. Less than a dozen years ago, the theater acquired a beer and wine permit which greatly expanded the ability to make money during concerts.
Even though the name, the Tampa Theatre, might suggest that the enterprise is supported by the City of Tampa, that is not the whole picture. The city owns the structure including the building's footprint which required a lengthy wrangle to secure. The Community Redevelopment Act, CRA, which is directed by the members of Tampa City Council acting in their capacity as CRA members, committed $14 million dollars to the Tampa Theatre to complete the building's repairs and restoration.
However, city money doesn't pay to run the theater. Tampa Theatre earns 75% of its annual operating budget through ticket and concession income. In 2023, it spent just over $4.5 million in expenses and collected over $4.8 million in income including donations, rentals and grants. Last year, the small, but mighty, staff and board all worked together to screen more than 400 new and classic movies plus over 40 live shows and speakers.
Over the years, the Tampa Theatre's operations evolved to include a partial restoration of the interior painting, new seats and carpeting, a new sound system and digital projection equipment, concession stand and office space.
Next month, Tampa Theatre starts a new chapter in its celebrated history when it opens the 43-seat John T. Taylor Screening Room on June 2.
Bell, now in his 39th year as the Theatre's Executive Director, cites the loss of single screen movie palaces in the ‘60s and 70's to the limitations of hundreds of seats and a single screen. His team started thinking about a second screen 15 years ago, got serious about it a decade ago and was ready to start construction just before covid.
Demolition of the shop started last August, and construction inside the screening room started two months later. The final finishes are being polished up as you read this. The shelf space and flexibility transforms the business model and allows Tampa Theatre to host an intimate screening at the same time as a large concert.
Stephanie Silverman, the Executive Director of the Belmont Film Center in Nashville, explained how the new 37 seat screening room her venue added a few years ago, impacted their revenue stream. "We have been pleased by the 20% increase in ticket sales and also the new models of use which we hadn't anticipated," she told CL.
"The challenge of our design process was that we couldn't duplicate the original materials but we were determined to keep the DNA of our historic space,” Bell added. “I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's terrific!"
Photo by Jeff Fay c/o Tampa Theatre
The Taylor screening room’s seats and carpeting will offer the same charm and comfort as in the historic portion of Tampa Theatre.
The Taylor screening room’s seats and carpeting will offer the same charm and comfort as in the historic portion of Tampa Theatre, but the technology will be the latest in acoustics and visuals, with speakers surrounding the audience. The spiral staircase leading to the projectionist booth and the handrails are inspired by the original metalwork in the Theatre.
Audience members will be able to enter through the existing historic entry and use the concessions. If there are two events, the new screening room will have its own entry directly on Franklin Street and a separate concession stand.
Joining the Theatre as a member costs $50 annually and allows folks to tour the new screening room a day early, on June 1. The additional activities which will be possible with this new space can include spoken word presentations, music, film and discussions. There’s still no first film announced, but the public can tour the facility starting June 2.
John P. Taylor—who formerly served on the Tampa Theatre board—told CL that he chose to fund the screening room because he simply loves movies. “I was born the year that ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ were released," told CL.
But the new space is not just a gift from him.
“There were no egos on the Board. We all worked in unison and we couldn't have a better leader than John Bell. I'm pleased to provide a donation to support the Theatre,” he said.
And while there are less than 50 seats in the comfortable and intimate space, the screening room will serve Tampa’s creative community by platforming not just cinema, but spoken word, small concerts, talks and more. Small, but mighty indeed.
UPDATE: 05/15/26 12:18 p.m. It's the John T. Taylor Screening Room, folks.
