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\n\t\u201cA lot of times when I\u2019m in the theater, there\u2019s only one seat that\u2019s ever up, and it\u2019s always the ghost seat,\u201d says the theater\u2019s marketing director Sarah Kraynik.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s not a big sign [that] says \u2018Ghost\u2019 or \u2018Beware of Ghost.\u2019 It\u2019s just, if you know, you know,\u201d says Florida Theatre president Kevin Stone.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile the chairs look like all the others in the building, the theater gets calls from people throughout the year specifically asking to book the ghost seats, Stone says. The theater even sells a bumper sticker that reads, \u201cI sat with the ghosts at the Florida Theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tThe \u201cghost seats\u201d at The Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Fla. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy The Florida Theatre<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of a premium to those chairs,\u201d says Stone. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t hurt that the ghost seat is in the first row of the middle balcony, so there\u2019s nobody in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tJ may not be the only presence hanging around the ornate Mediterranean Revival building. Stone says construction workers have reported paint cans flying through the air and that multiple people have heard an electrical hum coming from unplugged items. Other strange occurrences, he says, include doors closing on their own and reports from theater staff of an unknown figure appearing in the projection booth.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI can\u2019t confirm or deny truth in that, but every now and then you get somebody who has a little feeling that there might be somebody there,\u201d says Stone. \u201cI haven\u2019t encountered anything, but when I walk through the theater alone, I do acknowledge [out loud] that I come in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tOf course, The Florida Theatre hasn\u2019t survived nearly a century on lore alone. When it opened in 1927, the Jacksonville centerpiece was the largest movie palace in the state and sat on bustling Forsyth Street alongside five other movie houses. (The Florida Theatre is the only one of the six still standing.) The building incorporated French, Spanish and Italian motifs and furnishings; built in what is sometimes known as Spanish Eclectic Style, the theater features terrazzo and tile floors, decorative moldings, coffered ceilings and terra cotta ornamentation on the exterior.<\/p>\n \n\tNotably, the theater once boasted a Wurlitzer organ that was the second-largest Wurlitzer anywhere, according to the theater\u2019s website<\/a>, which also claims it was the first theater in the city with central air conditioning. Publix Theaters, the now-defunct arm of Paramount Pictures that constructed theaters, was the original owner of the building and had the foresight to add a stage big enough to accommodate live performances like Vaudeville acts.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Florida Theatre did not become famous for live acts until 1956, when the King entered the building. The revue-style Elvis Presley<\/a> Show was set to close out a seven-city tour on Aug. 10 and 11 at The Florida Theatre \u2014 the only venue in town that could host the 10,000 fans expected across both days of the show \u2014 with the iconic Hatch Show print<\/a> hailing, \u201cHear him sing \u2018Heartbreak Hotel,\u2019 \u2018Hound Dog\u2019 and his other great recording hits.\u201d The revue-style show \u2014 which included sets from The Jordanaires, Phil Maraquin, Frankie Connors and Blue Moon Boys \u2014 was scheduled to perform six shows over the two days. But the local Jacksonville government was concerned about the musician\u2019s lewd on-stage behavior.<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to Stone, the legend goes that juvenile court judge Marion Gooding had arrest warrants ready for Presley \u2014 for \u201cimpairing the morals of minors\u201d \u2014 if he shook those hips. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole thing about [Presley] having to meet with the judge and promise that he wouldn\u2019t have any of those lewd movements, and the lore is that\u2019s what started his little smirk, his traditional Elvis smirk,\u201d says Stone.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tBlack-and-white photos of the event show a row of police officers sitting in the orchestra pit facing a 21-year-old Presley instead of the crowd, largely made up of young women. \u201cTraditionally, the officers are there to face outwards towards the crowd and [prevent] the crowd from working towards the stage, but it\u2019s a line of police officers watching him,\u201d says Stone, adding that Judge Gooding came and sat in an aisle seat in the back row to watch the show. Later, Judge Gooding\u2019s son reportedly<\/a> said his father actually allowed his daughters to attend the show despite his alleged reservations. \u201cElvis and [Judge Gooding] became friends, \u201c adds Stone. \u201cAnytime Elvis came and played Jacksonville, he would get together with the judge.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFollowing Presley\u2019s shows, The Florida Theatre focused more on film. However, as multiplexes rose in popularity, the venue began losing money to the modern movie theaters and became run down, ultimately closing its doors in 1980. At the time, Jacksonville mayor Jake Godbold set out on a mission to reimagine the theater, which was then the last remaining movie palace in northeast Florida, according to the theater\u2019s website. Along with a coalition of local agencies and non-profits, the city purchased the building for $1 million in 1981, setting off a $4 million renovation funded by the Arts Assembly of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tThe Florida Theatre marquee in Jacksonville, Fla. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy The Florida Theatre<\/p>\n \n\tThe renovation included sectioning off the lobby from the theater and restoring balcony seats (only 803 of the theater\u2019s more than 1,900 seats were still functional when it closed in 1980). In 1982, the Florida Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following year, it reopened. In the time since, the venue has focused on live entertainment, with shows by acts including Fleetwood Mac<\/a>, John Prine<\/a>, Bon Jovi<\/a>, Roger Daltrey<\/a>, Katt Williams and Chris Cornell<\/a>. On average, the Florida Theatre hosts more than 200 shows per year. One highlight for the venue took place in 2015, when Jacksonville natives Lynyrd Skynyrd<\/a> played the band\u2019s first two albums in their entirety at the theater for AXS TV.<\/p>\n \n\tThe theater continues to host special movie screenings \u2014 often with stars of the films in attendance \u2014 though it stopped screening movies in 35mm film around 2015. \u201cWe were still doing 35-millimeter movies on occasion, which was tough because the quality of the film was not good and people\u2019s expectations are high-quality video, high-quality sound, and ours are crackling,\u201d says Stone. \u201cThen we had a Rocky Horror [Picture Show] incident where the projectionist missed a reel, and if you know Rocky Horror, you can\u2019t skip over the \u201cTime Warp.\u201d The theater went fully digital after that.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen the COVID-19 pandemic shut down mass gatherings in 2020 and 2021, the Florida Theatre experienced an unexpected boom. Because Florida reopened events much earlier than other states, the theater\u2019s \u201cphone was ringing off the hook,\u201d Stone says, \u201cbecause we were one of very few [venues] willing to do shows.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe theater hosted five shows in its first week of reopening in December 2020, with acts Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, .38 Special, comedian Brian Regan and Travis Tritt <\/a>playing to limited-capacity crowds. Because of Florida\u2019s laxer COVID-19 policies, acts who played there could make small runs throughout the state, from Jacksonville to Tampa to Orlando, to make the economics work.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Revolution](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Revolution-Hall-exterior-2026-press-rev-hall-cr-Andrew-M-Snyder-billboard-1800.jpg\")
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