{"id":2669,"date":"2025-10-14T15:45:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T15:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/2669\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T15:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T15:45:23","slug":"13m-makeover-set-to-transform-st-petes-historic-palladium-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/2669\/","title":{"rendered":"$13M makeover set to transform St. Pete’s historic Palladium Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Refreshing <\/p>\n

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg<\/a> College, a cultural landmark since 1925, is set for a dramatic renovation.<\/p>\n

Pinellas County commissioners have unanimously approved $2.5 million in funding \u2013 the final piece of a $13 million plan to transform the space into a top-tier performance and recording venue.<\/p>\n

READ: Historic Anna Maria Island cottage makes its way to new location<\/a><\/p>\n

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The project includes installing a new acoustic ceiling, replacing all 850 seats with vintage-style but more comfortable seating, adding a steeper seating slope for better sightlines and upgrading lighting.<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Originally built as a church in 1925 by the architects behind New York\u2019s Flatiron Building, the Palladium has been a community hub for nearly a century. It became a theater in 1998 and was taken over by St. Petersburg College in 2007 to give local talent a stage.<\/p>\n

While the building has hosted opera, ballet and countless community performances, its church-like acoustics have long posed challenges for amplified shows.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

MORE: Efforts underway to revive Crystal River Historic Cemetery from decades of flooding, neglect<\/a><\/p>\n

Between 2021 and 2024, staff developed renovation plans and secured funding, and with the county commissioners’ approval, they have the final piece of funding for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

The Palladium has long served as an affordable, accessible stage for local performers, a contrast to larger, more expensive venues like the Straz Center or Mahaffey Theater. The renovations aim to ensure it remains a premier arts destination while improving the experience for both performers and audiences.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

The theater is expected to close in July 2026 for about a year while renovations take place. Once complete, the upgrades are expected to make the Palladium one of the Bay Area\u2019s top venues for live performance and recording.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information for this story comes from interviews with Palladium Executive Director Paul Wilborn and official statements from Pinellas County Commissioners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

St. Petersburg<\/a>Tampa Bay History<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College, a cultural landmark since 1925, is set…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[47,115,1157,202,204,203,199,201,200,3224,628],"class_list":["post-2669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-fl","tag-news","tag-pinellas","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa-bay-history","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}