The historic Tampa Theatre is a bastion of imagination. For 91 years, the Franklin Street icon has brought critical and commercial hits to the big screen, while also providing an outlet for authors, musicians and comedians to share their craft with the community.
In celebration of its 91st birthday on October 15, the theatre will host a restoration tour and several free film screenings.
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At 11am, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the movie palace; see the Tampa Theatre in a whole new light. Historic photos from opening night in 1926 reveal a boldly patterned carpet and a main curtain with a narrow pinstripe, neither of which were red.
Learn the history of Tampa Theatre’s over-the-top design
Tampa Theatre’s new, hour-long Restoration Tour walks patrons through the various projects covered in this current $6 million restoration phase and concludes with a short film featuring the project’s lead architects, designers and historical experts.
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Suggested donation for admission is $10 at the door, and all proceeds will benefit the Theatre’s “Cush Your Tush” fundraising campaign for the new seats.
After the tour, the film screenings begin! Here’s a look at the lineup:
Tampa Theatre: The Mighty Overture
In 2008, that passion, prestige and pedigree of the Tampa Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ attracted the attention of Marcos Craveiro, a Brazilian filmmaker and travel writer visiting Tampa, who began making plans for a return trip and a documentary short that would capture the heart and soul of the Wurlitzer, the Tampa Theatre, and the people who keep both alive and thriving.
The result, A Mighty Overture, has already been accepted into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences archive, the collection at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna archive.
Screening begins at 1pm. Doors and bar open at 12:30pm.
Citizen Kane
Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.
Orson Welles’ masterpiece begins at 3pm. Doors and bar open at 2pm.
Hidden Figures
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
The Oscar-winning, box office hit screens at 7pm. Doors and bar open at 6pm.
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