You both are gentlemen and you are both welcome! tlsloews: I think I may have been misspelling your name as tisloews instead of tlsloews. If so my apologies. My eyesight isn’t what it once was even with eyeglasses. lol!
A little trivia: this is the theatre where my aunt saw “Tarantula” in 1955. At that time it was known as the Park Theatre. I never did see a movie here but Charlie worked here several times. He said it was a very nice theatre.
MajorMajor: Regarding Bill Alderman’s D/I: the trip to the library this evening was well worth it. I located the 1950 city directory and sure enough the theatre is listed (as Bill Alderman’s Restaurant.) The physical address is 4210 E. Hillsborough. Now at least we’ll know which side of the street and exact spot the theatre stood.
Thanks for the web link…very nice! Someone really took the time to provide not only theatre names but photos and bits of information on many theatres. My operator friend said the Columbus D/I was located off Columbus Drive on 29th Street. Interstate 4 runs over the property now. I know exactly where the Sundown was. It was right off Hillsborough Ave. heading towards Town n' County (where the airport service center road is now.) I remember seeing the rear of the screen years ago all tattered and rusted and falling apart. But I have no idea where the Sunset was. The 40th Street was located off Broadway (7th Avenue) heading east just beyond the 40th street intersection on the left side. I’ll also check on the 28th Street and Bonita in Tampa although these two are questionable but you never know. All these drive-ins should make for a very intersting if not eye-opening research session.
While I was at the library I was able to locate the opening/closing dates of Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 which I’ll post tomorrow. Also, the opening date for the Trans-Lux Theatre. This one has a bit of unique history to go along with it.
Mike: The Tower is the one I pointed towards when we were on the interstate heading downtown to take the Tampa Theatre tour. You could barely see the outline of the parking rows.
This is such a beautiful building but I don’t believe the Centro Asturiano Club ever ran movies (at least not as a commercial theatre.) They may have run films from time to time for club members but Centro Asturiano was never advertised as a movie theatre in the papers.
The Italian Club housed the Broadway Theatre, and the Centro Espanol Club housed the Casino Theatre. Both were commercial movie houses years ago. But I don’t recall that the Centro Asturiano Club ever had its own movie theatre.
Even so the large beautiful theatre on the 2nd floor (with the balcony on the 3rd floor) certainly looks like it could have been a movie house but I believe it was used strictly for stage performances.
Tampa had the following drive-ins that are currently not on CT: Buffalo (may be the same as East Buffalo but need to check how name appears in the newspaper ads) 40th Street, Columbus, and Sundown. And I think there may be at least one or two more.
Charlie, a retired operator, worked at the Buffalo, Columbus, and 40th Street and he’s told me some stories about them. Two of the three were black drive-ins located near Ybor City. He also helped to dismantle the Cypress D/I which is currently on CT. I’ll work on getting them up but need to research addresses and opening/closing dates.
Never heard of a 28th Street or 38th Street or Bonita D/I in Tampa. Do they appear in a directory that list Tampa as the location? If so this info is probably incorrect.
There are also several Tampa indoor theatres not yet on CT which I plan on getting up ASAP.
This is intriguing. I’ve been thinking about this theatre since I first saw it on CT and its been eating at me to find out what it was really like or at the very least the address. Of course the business license would certainly have an address but who knows how or where to even begin a search like that? There’s something I just remembered that might help identify the location. The 1950 city directory just might have a physical address for this business. I think the library carries the old directories but not sure how far back they go. Will check this out soon.
Opening day was March 3, 1950. The ad carried in the Tampa Tribune was a small and simple word ad:
Grand Opening Tonight
Bill Alderman’s Drive-Inn Theatre
43rd & Hillsborough
1 feature, 1 serial, 3 cartoons
Marriage & Divorce
Last of the Mohicans (1st chapter)
Knock Knock/Woody Woodpecker
Mickey & the Giant/Mickey Mouse
Gandy’s Adventure/Gandy Goose
World’s most unusual drive-inn
FREE admission children must be escorted by parents
Continuous 6:45 to 1:00 AM
First off, what do they mean by “free” admission? Does that imply children only or everyone? I typed it above just as it appears in the ad. This ad ran from 3/3/50 to 3/5/50.
The program changed on 3/6/50:
Sports Thrills of ‘49
Flying Fisherman
Fun on the Run/Abbott & Costello
Come Clean/Laurel & Hardy
The last day this ad ran was 3/8/50 which was also the last day the ads were listed in the Tampa Tribune. The theatre vanished after that date. The showtimes were not posted under the Time Clock listings along with other theatres. I scanned two weeks prior to the opening and never saw a single mention or photo of the theatre. I also scanned through the end of March but never saw another ad.
So based on this it appears the theatre was open for only a couple weeks. If it was open longer then why did they cease running ads? Unless cost was a factor and they relied on word-of-mouth.
Also, “Restaurant” never appeared in any of the ads. The theatre was always advertised as “Bill Alderman’s Drive-Inn.” And yet it does appear in the the Sarasota papers ad….go figure! Unless the spelling of “drive-inn” signifies “restaurant.”
This is a mystery to be solved only by someone who was there and remembers. My instincts tell me it was probably a 16mm set-up (hence the lack of real features and instead comedies cartoons and shorts.) But was it in fact a combination drive-in/restaurant or a drive-in with a glorified refreshment center? And how long was it in operation? Too many questions and no answers. I need to drive by the area just to see if anything at all remains. Of course that’s highly doubtful.
I had seen a really nice photo showing a crowd of people lined up outside awaiting entrance to a movie called “Hotel Berlin” What’s unique about this photo is that it shows the name of this theatre had apparently been changed from Rialto to The Cinema. But now I can’t seem to find this photo anywhere! I thought it was part of the photo collection at the library but it’s not listed within the collection. If it was ever part of the collection then it’s been removed. If I ever see it again I’ll post it.
Here’s another view of the building taken on 11/19/31: View link
What a fantastic display of posters! Here’s a photo dated 3/5/34 showing front of theatre with posters and two small trucks that made the rounds advertising current and coming attractions. Note banner for “Whispering Shadow” with Bela Lugosi(!!) within the left archway: View link
This theatre opened as a triple. As I recall the mall and cinemas opened just about the same time as University Square Mall Cinemas which would have been towards the latter part of 1974.
These cinemas were the standard blue & white General Cinema design with red carpeting and white pushback seats with red cushions. I visited this theatre several times and it was always neat, clean, and well managed. Of course towards the end it went downhill right along with the mall.
Some films I saw here: Alive, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Every Which Way But Loose, Gremlins, Apocalypse Now, Jason and the Argonauts (re-release). Both Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Apocalypse Now had their exclusive Tampa showings here and were presented in Dolby Stereo.
Hello Guys! I’m back. Sorry I was AWOL for so long. Wow! I’ve never heard of this theatre. I just spoke with Charlie (a former area operator) and he’s never heard of it either. But In 1950 he was working in Virginia for awhile so guess that’s the reason.
Heading to the library tomorrow to research other area theatres and will most certainly check this one out. Should prove to be quite interesting!
That’s exactly why I very seldom go anymore. As much as I love movies I just can’t tolerate the constant chatting…talking on cell phones…the incessant rustling of candy wrappers…and not to mention feet up on the seat right beside your head. And this rude behavior is not always limited to teens and young people either. Older people who should be familiar with theatre etiquette are sometimes just as rude.
Mike & tisloews! Let me chime in here. Your mention of “Last Tango” brings to mind when the film opened at the Hillsboro II Ultravision in Tampa. It was advertised with an X rating and the Hillsboro was the only theatre in town that played it.
The showing I saw was jam-packed and was even delayed for several minutes while the manager and ushers assisted patrons in finding seats, asking those already seated to please move down and fill up any empty seats to make room for last minute arrivals. Couples were even asked if they minded splitting up so they could both be seated.
The film was only mildly interesting in spots but basically boring. Brando’s nude scene took place on a dance floor where he lowered his pants and shook his naked rear end. It was not a pretty sight!
CORRECTION: The Palace did in fact run a 70mm print of “The Sound of Music” during the first few months of the initial roadshow engagement which opened on April 7, 1965. In my posting of the story above I referred to the opening of the film as “the 35mm roadshow presentation” which I based on the screen masking. This is incorrect.
During my first two or three viewings I distinctly recall the film being projected from the Cinerama booth on the main level. I was just informed by a former operator who had worked at the Palace several times that if the film was projected from this booth it would have been 70mm. The reason for the screen being masked may have been due to a restriction prohibiting non-Cinerama films from utilizing the full screen. Or the possibility that the Palace did not have the optically rectified 70mm lens needed to project the film on the deeply curved screen. Projection with a regular lens would cause the picture to “bow” upward on either side of the screen resulting in a distorted image.
Following the first few months of showings the 70mm print was exchanged for a 35mm print which was projected from the old upstairs booth for the remainder of the engagement. And from this point on the film’s soundtrack was no longer in stereo. Either the 70mm print was needed for an engagement at another theatre or it may have been monetary. Perhaps management no longer wanted to pay for the more expensive 70mm rental rate.
Fancy meeting you on this theatre site Mike! This is the theatre where I saw “THE EXORCIST” IN 1974!!! Back then it was called the KB-Cinema. I was living with friends in Alexandria when the film opened. We saw it several times and each time we stood in long long lines in the cold weather. Even the matinee showings sold out continously. And what a powerful film it was too. My friends and I were blown away by it. I remember at least 2 people that had fainted during the showings. I also recall several ladies had left the auditorium and were sitting in the lobby waiting for the film to end. They refused to go back inside.
The film was rated R but the District of Columbia slapped an X rating on the film forbidding admission to anyone under 17. There was a feature article in the Washingon Post about how audiences were reacting to the film. The manager was quoted as saying, “we had a good day today—only one person threw up!” The box office was taking in so much money an armored guard had to stand duty nearby. I remember the auditorium sat below street level. After buying your ticket and entering the small lobby you had to walk down a flight of stairs to the auditorium. It was a very nice theatre as I recall. I remember there were curtains that opened & closed over the large screen. So sorry to see it gone now.
Yes Mike I still have that photo and I intend to post it on the 20th Century page as soon as I can. It’s a great photo too. Thanks for sending me a copy!
I lived for movies and Famous Monsters in the 1960s! And what a great magazine it was too! I anxiously waited for the newest issue every month and it was never a disappointment. Forry will forever be remembered as the pied piper for us horror/sci-fi fanatics who grew up during this period. I also subscribed and I still have most issues neatly stacked on the top shelf in my closet. Forry, you have a legion of fans who are forever grateful to you for creating Famous Monsters of Filmland!
Mikeoaklandpark, The last day of operation was 7/14/74. By 1983 I doubt there would have even been any semblance of a drive-in remaining on the property. The apartments were probably already up by then or very close to being finished.
Are you certain you remember the 20th Century on Dale Mabry and Columbus Drive? If you lived here beginning in 1983 it couldn’t have been the 20th Century as it closed on Dec. 5, 1980. Perhaps you’re thinking of another drive-in?
You both are gentlemen and you are both welcome! tlsloews: I think I may have been misspelling your name as tisloews instead of tlsloews. If so my apologies. My eyesight isn’t what it once was even with eyeglasses. lol!
A little trivia: this is the theatre where my aunt saw “Tarantula” in 1955. At that time it was known as the Park Theatre. I never did see a movie here but Charlie worked here several times. He said it was a very nice theatre.
Hey tisloews: Glad you enjoyed the info!
MajorMajor: Regarding Bill Alderman’s D/I: the trip to the library this evening was well worth it. I located the 1950 city directory and sure enough the theatre is listed (as Bill Alderman’s Restaurant.) The physical address is 4210 E. Hillsborough. Now at least we’ll know which side of the street and exact spot the theatre stood.
Thanks for the web link…very nice! Someone really took the time to provide not only theatre names but photos and bits of information on many theatres. My operator friend said the Columbus D/I was located off Columbus Drive on 29th Street. Interstate 4 runs over the property now. I know exactly where the Sundown was. It was right off Hillsborough Ave. heading towards Town n' County (where the airport service center road is now.) I remember seeing the rear of the screen years ago all tattered and rusted and falling apart. But I have no idea where the Sunset was. The 40th Street was located off Broadway (7th Avenue) heading east just beyond the 40th street intersection on the left side. I’ll also check on the 28th Street and Bonita in Tampa although these two are questionable but you never know. All these drive-ins should make for a very intersting if not eye-opening research session.
While I was at the library I was able to locate the opening/closing dates of Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 which I’ll post tomorrow. Also, the opening date for the Trans-Lux Theatre. This one has a bit of unique history to go along with it.
Mike: The Tower is the one I pointed towards when we were on the interstate heading downtown to take the Tampa Theatre tour. You could barely see the outline of the parking rows.
This is such a beautiful building but I don’t believe the Centro Asturiano Club ever ran movies (at least not as a commercial theatre.) They may have run films from time to time for club members but Centro Asturiano was never advertised as a movie theatre in the papers.
The Italian Club housed the Broadway Theatre, and the Centro Espanol Club housed the Casino Theatre. Both were commercial movie houses years ago. But I don’t recall that the Centro Asturiano Club ever had its own movie theatre.
Even so the large beautiful theatre on the 2nd floor (with the balcony on the 3rd floor) certainly looks like it could have been a movie house but I believe it was used strictly for stage performances.
Tampa had the following drive-ins that are currently not on CT: Buffalo (may be the same as East Buffalo but need to check how name appears in the newspaper ads) 40th Street, Columbus, and Sundown. And I think there may be at least one or two more.
Charlie, a retired operator, worked at the Buffalo, Columbus, and 40th Street and he’s told me some stories about them. Two of the three were black drive-ins located near Ybor City. He also helped to dismantle the Cypress D/I which is currently on CT. I’ll work on getting them up but need to research addresses and opening/closing dates.
Never heard of a 28th Street or 38th Street or Bonita D/I in Tampa. Do they appear in a directory that list Tampa as the location? If so this info is probably incorrect.
There are also several Tampa indoor theatres not yet on CT which I plan on getting up ASAP.
This is intriguing. I’ve been thinking about this theatre since I first saw it on CT and its been eating at me to find out what it was really like or at the very least the address. Of course the business license would certainly have an address but who knows how or where to even begin a search like that? There’s something I just remembered that might help identify the location. The 1950 city directory just might have a physical address for this business. I think the library carries the old directories but not sure how far back they go. Will check this out soon.
Here’s what I found for this theatre:
Opening day was March 3, 1950. The ad carried in the Tampa Tribune was a small and simple word ad:
Grand Opening Tonight
Bill Alderman’s Drive-Inn Theatre
43rd & Hillsborough
1 feature, 1 serial, 3 cartoons
Marriage & Divorce
Last of the Mohicans (1st chapter)
Knock Knock/Woody Woodpecker
Mickey & the Giant/Mickey Mouse
Gandy’s Adventure/Gandy Goose
World’s most unusual drive-inn
FREE admission children must be escorted by parents
Continuous 6:45 to 1:00 AM
First off, what do they mean by “free” admission? Does that imply children only or everyone? I typed it above just as it appears in the ad. This ad ran from 3/3/50 to 3/5/50.
The program changed on 3/6/50:
Sports Thrills of ‘49
Flying Fisherman
Fun on the Run/Abbott & Costello
Come Clean/Laurel & Hardy
The last day this ad ran was 3/8/50 which was also the last day the ads were listed in the Tampa Tribune. The theatre vanished after that date. The showtimes were not posted under the Time Clock listings along with other theatres. I scanned two weeks prior to the opening and never saw a single mention or photo of the theatre. I also scanned through the end of March but never saw another ad.
So based on this it appears the theatre was open for only a couple weeks. If it was open longer then why did they cease running ads? Unless cost was a factor and they relied on word-of-mouth.
Also, “Restaurant” never appeared in any of the ads. The theatre was always advertised as “Bill Alderman’s Drive-Inn.” And yet it does appear in the the Sarasota papers ad….go figure! Unless the spelling of “drive-inn” signifies “restaurant.”
This is a mystery to be solved only by someone who was there and remembers. My instincts tell me it was probably a 16mm set-up (hence the lack of real features and instead comedies cartoons and shorts.) But was it in fact a combination drive-in/restaurant or a drive-in with a glorified refreshment center? And how long was it in operation? Too many questions and no answers. I need to drive by the area just to see if anything at all remains. Of course that’s highly doubtful.
Here are four more photos:
No date given for this one:
View link
This photo dated 8/3/46:
View link
Angled shot dated 2/6/30:
View link
Very nice shot of the theatre interior dated 2/21/24:
View link
A nice angled view dated 2/6/30:
View link
Here’s a great shot of the theatre interior dated 2/21/24:
View link
I had seen a really nice photo showing a crowd of people lined up outside awaiting entrance to a movie called “Hotel Berlin” What’s unique about this photo is that it shows the name of this theatre had apparently been changed from Rialto to The Cinema. But now I can’t seem to find this photo anywhere! I thought it was part of the photo collection at the library but it’s not listed within the collection. If it was ever part of the collection then it’s been removed. If I ever see it again I’ll post it.
Here’s another view of the building taken on 11/19/31:
View link
And another view taken on 5/2/25:
View link
Here’s a photo dated 8/13/59 of the Park Theatre when “Love Is My Profession” with Brigitte Bardot was playing:
View link
What a fantastic display of posters! Here’s a photo dated 3/5/34 showing front of theatre with posters and two small trucks that made the rounds advertising current and coming attractions. Note banner for “Whispering Shadow” with Bela Lugosi(!!) within the left archway:
View link
Here are some additional photos:
Auditorium interior dated 8/21/26:
View link
Refreshment Stand (Candibar) dated 9/30/50:
View link
Erikijohnson: This is interesting. I’ll see what I can find for you during my next research session.
One cinema had 70mm capability. I remember seeing “2010” here in 70mm.
Saw many movies here. I believe AMC opened Twin Bays 4 and Horizon Park 4 on the same day. More to come on both of these.
Saw many movies here. I believe Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 opened on the same day. More to come on these two.
This theatre opened as a triple. As I recall the mall and cinemas opened just about the same time as University Square Mall Cinemas which would have been towards the latter part of 1974.
These cinemas were the standard blue & white General Cinema design with red carpeting and white pushback seats with red cushions. I visited this theatre several times and it was always neat, clean, and well managed. Of course towards the end it went downhill right along with the mall.
Some films I saw here: Alive, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Every Which Way But Loose, Gremlins, Apocalypse Now, Jason and the Argonauts (re-release). Both Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Apocalypse Now had their exclusive Tampa showings here and were presented in Dolby Stereo.
I’ll post opening and closing dates soon.
Hello Guys! I’m back. Sorry I was AWOL for so long. Wow! I’ve never heard of this theatre. I just spoke with Charlie (a former area operator) and he’s never heard of it either. But In 1950 he was working in Virginia for awhile so guess that’s the reason.
Heading to the library tomorrow to research other area theatres and will most certainly check this one out. Should prove to be quite interesting!
That’s exactly why I very seldom go anymore. As much as I love movies I just can’t tolerate the constant chatting…talking on cell phones…the incessant rustling of candy wrappers…and not to mention feet up on the seat right beside your head. And this rude behavior is not always limited to teens and young people either. Older people who should be familiar with theatre etiquette are sometimes just as rude.
Mike & tisloews! Let me chime in here. Your mention of “Last Tango” brings to mind when the film opened at the Hillsboro II Ultravision in Tampa. It was advertised with an X rating and the Hillsboro was the only theatre in town that played it.
The showing I saw was jam-packed and was even delayed for several minutes while the manager and ushers assisted patrons in finding seats, asking those already seated to please move down and fill up any empty seats to make room for last minute arrivals. Couples were even asked if they minded splitting up so they could both be seated.
The film was only mildly interesting in spots but basically boring. Brando’s nude scene took place on a dance floor where he lowered his pants and shook his naked rear end. It was not a pretty sight!
CORRECTION: The Palace did in fact run a 70mm print of “The Sound of Music” during the first few months of the initial roadshow engagement which opened on April 7, 1965. In my posting of the story above I referred to the opening of the film as “the 35mm roadshow presentation” which I based on the screen masking. This is incorrect.
During my first two or three viewings I distinctly recall the film being projected from the Cinerama booth on the main level. I was just informed by a former operator who had worked at the Palace several times that if the film was projected from this booth it would have been 70mm. The reason for the screen being masked may have been due to a restriction prohibiting non-Cinerama films from utilizing the full screen. Or the possibility that the Palace did not have the optically rectified 70mm lens needed to project the film on the deeply curved screen. Projection with a regular lens would cause the picture to “bow” upward on either side of the screen resulting in a distorted image.
Following the first few months of showings the 70mm print was exchanged for a 35mm print which was projected from the old upstairs booth for the remainder of the engagement. And from this point on the film’s soundtrack was no longer in stereo. Either the 70mm print was needed for an engagement at another theatre or it may have been monetary. Perhaps management no longer wanted to pay for the more expensive 70mm rental rate.
Fancy meeting you on this theatre site Mike! This is the theatre where I saw “THE EXORCIST” IN 1974!!! Back then it was called the KB-Cinema. I was living with friends in Alexandria when the film opened. We saw it several times and each time we stood in long long lines in the cold weather. Even the matinee showings sold out continously. And what a powerful film it was too. My friends and I were blown away by it. I remember at least 2 people that had fainted during the showings. I also recall several ladies had left the auditorium and were sitting in the lobby waiting for the film to end. They refused to go back inside.
The film was rated R but the District of Columbia slapped an X rating on the film forbidding admission to anyone under 17. There was a feature article in the Washingon Post about how audiences were reacting to the film. The manager was quoted as saying, “we had a good day today—only one person threw up!” The box office was taking in so much money an armored guard had to stand duty nearby. I remember the auditorium sat below street level. After buying your ticket and entering the small lobby you had to walk down a flight of stairs to the auditorium. It was a very nice theatre as I recall. I remember there were curtains that opened & closed over the large screen. So sorry to see it gone now.
Yes Mike I still have that photo and I intend to post it on the 20th Century page as soon as I can. It’s a great photo too. Thanks for sending me a copy!
I lived for movies and Famous Monsters in the 1960s! And what a great magazine it was too! I anxiously waited for the newest issue every month and it was never a disappointment. Forry will forever be remembered as the pied piper for us horror/sci-fi fanatics who grew up during this period. I also subscribed and I still have most issues neatly stacked on the top shelf in my closet. Forry, you have a legion of fans who are forever grateful to you for creating Famous Monsters of Filmland!
Mikeoaklandpark, The last day of operation was 7/14/74. By 1983 I doubt there would have even been any semblance of a drive-in remaining on the property. The apartments were probably already up by then or very close to being finished.
Are you certain you remember the 20th Century on Dale Mabry and Columbus Drive? If you lived here beginning in 1983 it couldn’t have been the 20th Century as it closed on Dec. 5, 1980. Perhaps you’re thinking of another drive-in?