The Tampa Theatre reopens to the public this weekend after a seven-month restoration.
The $24.5 million project completely and authentically restored the historic Duncan Auditorium, modernized theater technology and improved critical infrastructure. A portion of the money also went toward creating a two-floor education center with dedicated classrooms for film studies that will open in the fall.
These transformations represent phase one of a larger initiative the theater is calling its “Second Century Campaign” to restore and expand the historic venue for future generations.
The second phase of theater improvements, which is estimated to be done in 2028, will create a third public programming space and restore the theater’s Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, according to a project overview timeline.
“They did forensic paint analysis … and discovered that, ‘Well, you know what? That red – it was actually a blue back in the day, or that blue was actually a green’…So for the first time since 1926, it’s going to look like it did in 1926,” said George Levesque, Tampa Theatre president and CEO.
Levesque said the near museum-level restoration was led by Evergreen Construction, a group that has worked on the Capitol Rotunda and basilicas internationally.
And like all old things, the decorative theatre required a bit of dusting, too.
“If you see those terracotta roofs right here… you see a whole bunch of different tiles,” Levesque said. “After 100 years of dust, we thought they were all the same color, and when they came in and did the restoration, the first thing they did was clean it, and you realize it’s about five different paint colors.”
Patrons will be invited back into the newly restored theater beginning Saturday. Doors open at 1 p.m. for the free community event.
The Oct. 15 Centennial Celebration is sold out.
Gabriela Paul is a reporter with WUSF, the bay area’s NPR affiliate.