When the Tampa Theatre reopens its doors for its October centennial celebration, patrons will feel as if they have stepped back in time to a glorious movie palace era thanks to a massive restoration. The theater’s weeklong 100th anniversary programming will pay homage to when it debuted in October 1926 with the silent film “The Ace of Cads.”
“Now, a century later, it will be as close to the original opening night as any of us today can imagine,” said George Levesque, Tampa Theatre’s president and CEO. Attendees will include Anna Lee, the daughter of Tampa City Councilman Lee Duncan, who helped rescue the theater in 1973 when it faced demolition, and Maury Brassert, the grandson of the theater’s legendary architect, John Eberson, who said the theater was his grandfather’s favorite.
An artisan works to restore the Tampa Theatre to its former glory.
It will be quite an exciting reopening, with an open house and tours Oct. 11 and showings of “Casablanca,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “A Night at the Opera” Oct. 12-14 as Tampa Theatre’s Summer Classics series and Big Picture Wednesdays return to the programming lineup. On Oct. 15, the big reveal at the theater’s 1920s-themed centennial celebration will feature a screening of “Sherlock Jr.,” music from a live orchestra and special surprises.
There’s also a marvelous centennial coffee table book on the landmark’s lore: “Tampa Theatre: A Century of Stories,” by the late historian Andrew T. Huse, is now on sale; copies will be available for purchase during the Oct. 15 event.
Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at Tombolo Books:Did you know one of Tampa’s most iconic landmarks holds secret stories of ghosts, 1960s civil rights protests and a dramatic rescue from demolition? On Oct. 21, Jill Witecki, Tampa Theatre’s vice president, director of marketing and community relations, will discuss Huse’s “Tampa Theatre: A Century of Stories.” From the theater’s grand opening in 1926 to its multimillion-dollar restoration ahead of its 100th birthday, this book reads like a historic thriller.
The Tampa Theatre’s lobby in 1930.
Built in 1926, the Tampa Theatre is one of America’s most elaborate movie palaces, according to the theater’s website. Visitors to the atmospheric theater enjoy world-class entertainment under a realistic night sky with twinkling stars in a romantic Mediterranean courtyard replete with Old World statues, flowers and gargoyles. Like other movie palaces around the country, the Tampa Theatre was enormously popular when it opened. For the first time in history, the common person had access to opulence — for only 25 cents!
But by the 1960s, times had changed. The rise of television had a profound impact on the movie palaces that lit up America’s main streets. Audiences dwindled, costs rose and many of the nation’s finest movie palaces were demolished. With thinning crowds, high-maintenance costs and falling ticket sales, the Tampa Theatre was slated to be leveled in 1973.
Citizens were outraged. The movement, spearheaded by Duncan and Tampa Mayor Bill Poe, harnessed an outcry that would come to be known as one of the most profound movements in preservation history. Ultimately, the city assumed the leases and purchased the building, saving the beloved theater.
As part of Tampa Theatre’s seven-month restoration project, all of the paint and plaster in the Historic Duncan Auditorium was repaired and repainted in its original1926 color palette.
In 1978, Tampa Theatre was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it is managed by the not-for-profit Tampa Theatre Inc. As one of the most heavily utilized venues of its kind in the nation, Tampa Theatre hosts nearly 1,000 events each year, according to the theater’s website.
There are only about 100 theaters like it in existence today, with approximately 20 that were designed by Eberson, who was considered the father of the atmospheric theater, a term that refers to the unique open-air ambience that transports the audience to a lovely piazza, complete with balconies and lush ornamental architecture. The Tampa Theatre is considered by many to be, as Levesque described it, “the most intact of the remaining Eberson theaters.”
For four decades, John Bell helmed the theater, building a team and a culture of devotion. “‘We made it through World War II, the Great Depression and all seven “Police Academy” movies,'” he quipped, according to Witecki.
An artisan works on restoring the theater’s Historic Duncan Auditorium.
Among Bell’s many accomplishments? The Tampa Theatre became a part of the League of Historic American Theatres, and in 2024 he won the national Joseph Rosenberg Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution, following the 2023 winner Levesque, who was then-executive director of the Paramount Theatre in Abilene, Texas.
How’s that for serendipity? Levesque came to see the theater, saying, “I simply had to see this place,” and while in Tampa, he and Bell met in person. Bell knew he would be retiring but wanted to finish laying all the groundwork and fundraising for the centennial, setting up the renovation and making sure there was a smooth leadership transition, and recommended Levesque, who started in June 2026.
Restoration work on the Tampa Theatre’s auditorium took months of preparation and research, led by John Bell and team.
The restoration was a Herculean feat. Superintendent Chris Reeder of EverGreene Architectural Arts, known for its atmospheric renovations nationally, led the charge. For years, Bell and the team prepared to restore the theater to its original look, right down to the paint color.
It’s also received modern upgrades, like fiber-optic lighting in the ceiling stars (formerly bulbs), and renovated spaces created for an education center and film archive with state-of-the-art technology. Plus, the theater now has its first-ever elevator!
The newly renovated Tampa Theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary this month.
Levesque and Bell have worked in close collaboration to bring this historic celebration and milestone to fruition.
“It’s both an awesome responsibility, and a true joy,” Levesque said. All because the community put art and passion before profit to save this historical treasure. Or, as Bell would say, “Passion bends reality.”
The Tampa Theatre marquee gets refurbished and ready for opening day.
A catapult for the imagination since 1926, Tampa Theatre’s mission is to build community through extraordinary entertainment in an iconic architectural and design landmark. See for yourself: Visit it at 711 N. Franklin St., Tampa. tampatheatre.org