Palace Theater
700 Tampa Street,
Tampa,
FL
33601
700 Tampa Street,
Tampa,
FL
33601
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 45 of 45 comments found
Around the late 1940s-early 1950s, every Saturday morning Tampa’s Palace Theatre had a live children’s show called “The Jack Dew Sealtest Review”, which featured a movie, cartoons, action serial, a live raffle, stage show, etc.
It was broadcast over radio station WDAE (or at least the live stage portion was). It was sponsored by Sealtest Dairies, a major milk and dairy producer of that time. The MC was Jack Dew, a local personality. Admission for children was only 25 cents! I recall I won a pair of roller skates one time on the stage portion.
Television arrived in Tampa in 1953, bringing with it a national TV circus show called the Sealtest Big Top. If the local Jack Dew Sealtest Review had not ceased by this time, no doubt the advent of television brought about its discontinuation.
Thanks for an interesting discussion!
Here’s an absolutely beautiful full shot of the Palace marquee and entrance dated 1947. Theatres do not get much better than this! I often dream about this theatre:
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Here’s an ad for the film that began my obsession with movies and theatres. Was my favorite sci-fi film up until “2001” came along 7 years later.
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“2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY” in 70mm Cinerama. A sight to behold on the big Cinerama screen.
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Mike, No problem…I’ll get a copy of “HOW THE WEST WAS WON” to you. You’ll never see ads like these in the newspapers again for any movie. Hate to say this but I seldom even bother looking at the theatre listings anymore. Hardly anything worth looking at.
Nick, do you think you could make me a copy of “HOW THE WEST WAS WON” i have a nephew who is slap crazy about John Wayne.I could frame it and make a great christmas gift.Last year i gave him a “WAR WARGON” lobby card framed and he said it was his best gift. Just wondering. Great ads I just keep looking over and over,You have a 2001 too i know.not in cinerama in know.
Great ads Nick,nice size too.
Here are the ads for the 3-strip Cinerama attractions:
“THIS IS CINERAMA"
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“SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD"
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“CINERAMA HOLIDAY"
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“THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM"
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“SEARCH FOR PARADISE"
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“SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE"
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“HOW THE WEST WAS WON"
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And here’s the opening day ad for “THE SOUND OF MUSIC” which was the biggest attraction to ever play at the Palace. At the time who could have foreseen it would run for one year and five months? The film was presented in 70mm for the first few weeks and in 35mm for the remainder of the run.
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Great but sad photos Nick,check out the PARAMONT theatre Nashville it has photos of it being torn down,me and one of my Loews buddies took 4 seats out of this theatre as it was being torn down,I do not know what happened to them though.
Photo of auditorium about 1948 following remodeling and name change from Victory to Palace:
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The Palace comes down in December 1979:
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Two close-up photos of wreckage at rear of building. Note last photo: balcony with seats above and Cinerama projection booth below:
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Erikijohnson: This is interesting. I’ll see what I can find for you during my next research session.
I’m searching for some information about a Vaudeville show that may have performed at the theatre in the late 1920’s somewhere between 1927-1929. The show was called “Jungleland” which was a traveling contortionist show. If anyone could help out, that would be great.
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.
Mike, Yes, it’s sad nearly all the downtown theatres are long gone. I never fail to remember them when I walk or drive by the location where they once stood.
I found out I will need to use a scanner to post photos. My printer also has a built-in scanner but it’s currently not functioning. Hopefully I can get it going soon. In the meantime go ahead and send me your photos and I’ll get ‘em up as soon as I’m able to. No I’m not doing this at work; there’s no way I could do it and get away with it!
Nick.I am going to have to send you some pictures. you ain’t doing this at work are you?
Nick. it is so sad all those old theatre had to come down for all those glass towers. I am so glad i got to see the TAMPA THEATRE and thankgoodness you guys saved it.
Here are some extra shots I found. Click on photos to enlarge.
Exterior view dated 5/18/20 probably taken just after building was completed: View link
Another exterior view dated February 1925:
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Entrance w/posters of current and coming attractions dated 8/21/43:
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Here is a 1978 photo.
This is a 1945 close-up view.
Please provide any stories or information that you might have about this theatre (or any single-screen theatre in Tampa) here… http://historictheatresintampa.blogspot.com
This will assist us in preserving the history surrounding these theatres in Tampa. Thank you!!
A picture of this theater may be found with an accompanying article from 1951 here:
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