Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse
300 Brevard Avenue,
Cocoa,
FL
32922
300 Brevard Avenue,
Cocoa,
FL
32922
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The Fine Arts Cinema originally closed on November 10, 1970 with “Yours, Mine, And Ours” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” due to repairs, but it was later confirmed that it closed for the final time as a movie theater.
Also reopened as the State theatre on January 9th, 1947. Grand opening ad posted.
Grand opening articles:
Aladdin Theatre opening 14 Aug 1924, Thu Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida) Newspapers.com
This reopened as the Fine Arts Cinema by Kent Theatres on October 29th, 1965. Grand opening ad posted.
http://barton.theatreorgans.com/cgi-bin/db2net.exe lists a Robert-Morton 2 manual of unknown size with W. T. Bryan as the location in 1925.
Back when the State Theatre was a movie house, there were circuit breakers backstage for an organ. The American Theatre Organ Society may have information on what kind of organ was once located in the theatre.
1955 photo added as the State Theatre, courtesy of the AmeriCar The Beautiful Facebook page.
An earlier comment said the theater was restored to its original appearance. I was in the theater this past weekend and the only decorative elements in the auditorium are the proscenium and then another arch further into the auditorium on the other side of what might have been organ screens. The rest of the theater was painted a light color and there were no other visible decorations. I would suspect that the original 1924 appearance would have included more decoration. I have not been able to find any pictures of the interior of the auditorium.
According to www.historiccocoavillage.com/history.php?mod=601 during the 60’s this theater was the Fine Arts.
The City of Cocoa sold the theater for $1 to Brevard Community College in 1984 for $1.
Is there any infromation on the organ that might have been in this theater?
what an awesome theatre !!!! i was part of the “Village Players” in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s.
we did Jesus Christ Superstar in 1978/79 for 2 years in a row & it was a sell out on all its runs.
that show really got the ball rolling again for the playhouse.
the next thing we did was West Side Story in 1980.
i’d love to share memories with anyone about those shows etc…
In 2002, InterAmerica Stage, Inc. was contracted to provide a new stage rigging system, including all required structural additions and reinforcements. TLC engineering was engaged by IAstage to provide the engineering services. A new operating gallery/loading bridge along with grid and head steel additions were required to install a counterweight fly system. IAstage also provided rigging for the FOH lighting trusses. The main drape is very attractive, it looks like a Contour or Austrian curtain but is actually flown in and out as a guillotine. The curtain was designed and manufactured at IAstage’s shop in Sanford.
http://iastage.com/historical_renovations
Operated as the State Theatre during the 1940’s by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary E.J. Sparks.
That is correct lostmemory;
Listed as the State Theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have 1941-1950 editions.
Seen in exterior shots in the film Matinee.
Large historic photo at this link:
View link
Listing should be updated to Italian Renaissance style. P. Thornton Marye, architect. 4 stories. Concrete slab foundation. Flat ceramic roof. Restored in the 1980s to its original appearance.