TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Theatre is being restored.
Crews started work in March on the Tampa Theatre on Franklin Street in downtown Tampa. Inside the Duncan Auditorium, crews have already started re-plastering and painting.
“Plaster is not the sturdiest material over 100 years,” said Tampa Theatre marketing director Jill Witecki. “So, there are a lot of places where the plaster is damaged or missing.”
Crews have also replaced piping and molding.
The goal is to make the auditorium look like it did when the Tampa Theatre first opened in 1926. The work is expected to be done by September, just in time to celebrate the theatre’s 100th birthday.
Crews started work in March on the Tampa Theatre on Franklin Street in downtown Tampa. (Spectrum News/Dalia Dangerfield)
But it hasn’t been easy.
“The biggest challenge has been integrating all the technology that you must have in a modern venue into a historic building, but integrating it in a way that is seamless,” said CEO John Bell.
Along with restoring the old, crews are adding something new to the theater. There will be an education wing with dedicated classrooms. That is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
The addition and restoration project is expected to cost about $25 million.
Meanwhile, people have still been able to watch movies during the construction. Part of the Tampa Theatre — the John T. Taylor Screening Room — has remained open for moviegoers.
The work is expected to be done by September, just in time to celebrate the theatre’s 100th birthday. (Spectrum News/Dalia Dangerfield)