Playhouse Theatre
1852 Central Avenue,
St. Petersburg,
FL
33712
1852 Central Avenue,
St. Petersburg,
FL
33712
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Opened as an outdoor theatre on 8 Aug 1925 and reopened as an indoor theatre on 28 Oct 1928.
When it was operating as the Patio (and perhaps during the early Playhouse era) it was also a vaudeville house. When I worked there in the ‘60s it still had footlights, “X-Ray” borders, a vintage carbon arc spotlight, several sets of drapes, dressing rooms and an orchestra pit. The original square format movie screen (still there) was mounted on the upstage wall. It would be interesting to know who played there during that era ?
An article about three early St. Petersburg airdome theaters in the January 16, 2002 Tampa Bay Times gives four additional aka’s for the Patio: the Reno, the Ritz, Papa’s Dream, and the Golden Apple. The latter two sound like they might have been used during the theater’s years as an adult house. As of 2002, it was the home of a sports bar called the Extra Inning.
The Patio Theatre was originally an airdome, and was in operation by 1926 (a number of modern sources say it opened in 1925.) The advertisement for the house in the April 14 issue of The Tampa Bay Times that year boasted: “PATIO, Central and 19th, Handsomest Open Air Theatre in America”. It’s possible that the 1928 opening that other sources give was its re-opening as an indoor theater.
This theater is eligible for National Register. The SHPO survey calls her “Papa’s Dream” because it served as the music ministry venue of Freddie Langston. It has been connected to 1833 1st Ave. So. and is under construction as well as for sale. There is a fairly large crew. I’d guess it will reopen as a bar/club within a couple of months. It may se4rve the niche of the State Theater just a few blocks away, which is under severe scrutiny for life-safety issues. If HDEngineer is correct, it may no longer be NR eligible, but might fill a niche in StP.
I flew down from DC and visited the Playhouse today, fully intending to make a good offer to purchase the property. Regretfully, I found the theater in such poor condition that, in my opinion, any theater renovation effort would likely be prohibitively expensive. My best guess would be on the order of $20M. The bar folks appeared to have destroyed virtually everything that would have been of value in a theater renovation effort. The balcony risers and projection booth are gone. The main floor, stage, and orchestra pit are bastardized to accommodate the bar. (I have posted a picture.) The roof has been penetrated and evidences major water damage in several places. So, shed a tear and have a drink to the old Playhouse. She did her best, but her various owners neither respected her nor gave her the care she deserved. May she rest in peace.
Hello Historic Gal: I was hoping to hear from you… Bill
HDEngineer. My husband & I have been trying for the last 2yrs to get info on this building to restore it etc. We have went round & round as it keeps changing commercial real estate companies for the sale. Now the $ of the building has went up 50% since it switched to the new listee. How can I get ahold of you to discuss?
I tried the number above but the person answering did not know anything….any other lead on the building ??
Bill
HDEngineer. Why don’t you try the phone# on the side of the building that appears in Street View? 813-205-2028. The picture was taken in March 2015.
After the PLAYHOUSE closed as a motion picture house, it was briefly the GOLDEN APPLE DINNER THEATRE.
Playhouse trivia….The curtain was indeed opened and closed by hand, when someone bothered. There were tape marks on the rope to show the proper masking positions, again if someone bothered to follow them…….
Is the building still for sale ?? Does anyone know how much and who the seller is ??
When I went to the Playhouse in the early sixties, the curtain was not motorized. When it opened, it looked like someone was pulling the rope with one hand, it was so jerky. I also noticed they did not mask their flat picture, but had the screen opened all the way. I worked in some theatres where the curtain was used for side masking, but I didn’t see this at the Playhouse.
One night when I was the projectionist at the PLAYHOUSE, the intercom buzzer went off. When I answered, it was a very excited Mr. Boardman. He said, “Turn off the sign immediately.” After turning off the sign, I called Mr. Boardman back and asked him why he was so excited. He said, “ Driving down Central Avenue to the theatre, he noticed a malfunction with the sign. One side said PAYHOUSE and thew other side said LAYHOUSE. The sign was repaired the next day. The booth had SUPER SIMPLEX projectors and BRENKERT "ENARC” lamps with a small motor-generator in the booth for power. A nice feature of the PLAYHOUSE was a large snack bar to the right of the box office. The front opened up to face Central Avenue and food was served to patrons who were not in the theatre. An added bonus was that this was also the location of a city buss stop.
The Patio/Playhouse was originally a vaudeville house; with stage, footlights and spotlight, flyloft, orchestra pit, and dressing rooms. When the roof was put on, the building was air-conditioned; probably one of the first buildings in St. Pete to be so equipped. In the early days, the theater ran nitrate film. Its a wonder it never burned down. Bill Moore
The Playhouse was owned and operated by the Boardman family. They also operated the Royal theater in St. Petersburg. The Royal was the “colored” theater in town, an old un air-conditioned Quonset hut. The Playhouse was in financial trouble in the early ‘60s, unable to compete for first run films with the chain theaters. The Boardmans hung on, hoping that the freeway would be built through their property. In 1963, Boardman had managed to secure the exhibition rights for a little known film “Lilies of the Field”. He was running the film at the Royal when Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award. He quickly moved the film to the Playhouse where it ran SRO for four weeks, saving the theater financially and breathing new momentum into it for a few more years. If someone has an active plan to save this old theater, feel free to contact me.
The Playhouse had a beautiful curved CinemaScope screen, but it had no movable masking. When a flat picture (1.85:1) was shown, the whole width of the screen was exposed. It had a curtain which was manually operated. It opened in a jerky manner, as if someone was using just one hand on the rope.
Actually the Playhouse Theatre was originally the Patio Theatre. Built as an open air Garden style.(Ampitheatre) In 1928 a roof was added and enclosed the theatre.(atmospheric) By 1934 it was Renamed to the Playhouse. Closed as a movie theatre around 1973. It was later used as a sports bar with a second level added under the proscenium. The Playhouse Adult Theatre was at a different location in downtown St.pete. The only Reno Theatre was in Tampa Fl. We are in a position to purchase the Old Patio/Playhouse Theatre and will have a Wurlitzer organ and silent films. We also hope to sell Pizza at this location.
Just did some research on this theatre. It opened as the Playhouse Theatre in August of 1935. The last day of operation as a standard theatre was on September 6, 1966. It remained closed until October 12, 1966 when it reopened as the Playhouse Adult Theatre. It finally closed for good on May 22, 1973.
I didn’t see any ads for a Reno Theatre around the time the Playhouse opened. Since Andy has found evidence of a Reno Theatre either at or near this location a search of the 1933 ads will hopefully clear this up.
I’ll post a few ads from the Playhouse shortly.
I’ve found evidence of a Reno Theater located at the corner of Central and 19th. The advertisement is from 1933, so either the above information about the name being changed to the Playhouse is wrong, or there was another theater across the street.
Closed and for sale. Hopefully something good will happen to the building. Both pictures are from May 2010.
Ticket booth.
Building.