Nice work, Nick! So the soda fountain was about a block away from the Victory Theater, and same block, across from where the Tampa Theater was built in 1926.
Thanks DW! The soda fountain photo is from 1925. The write up here wasn’t clear to me when the Victory became the Palace. But if that transition didn’t take place after 1930, then as you said, it seems likely that the fountain wouldn’t have been called the Palace if it was still in the Victory in 1925.
Does anyone know if the “Palace Soda Fountain” was located in the Palace Theater? Fla. State archives has a photo of this soda fountain, but doesn’t relate it to the theater: http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/29183
There was another San Carlos theater in Key West before this one, owned and operated by James Harold “Harry” Burgert, one of the Burgert brothers family of photographers. Maybe it operated in a different building. It was in operation from as early as 1911 to 1912 and featured moving pictures and vaudeville acts. See about halfway down this web page, in the section about Harry Burgert. http://www.tampapix.com/BB3.htm. There are ads there for this theater, but they don’t give the address.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor was on the west side of Fla. Ave. at Bird St. Hear this radio ad I posted a while back. I think you’ll need to be a Facebook member to hear it, since I posted it at Tampa Natives facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=405216566157221&set=o.144613012277765&type=3&permPage=1
You can see the trailer park across the street in this 1957 Graber Aerial photo at the USF Digital Archives online. The photo is upside down, they have south at the top and north at the bottom. It needs to be rotated 180 degrees. http://digital.lib.usf.edu/downloads/?doi=G23-5700754&scale=1200&format=jpeg
If you zoom in on the 1969 historic aerial at the link the NYozoner posted, you can see just below and right of the Dale Mabry entrance marqee, the Biff Burger restaurant so popular with the drive-in patrons. You can even see the striped rooftop. Immediately behind it (to the right), is the triangular shaped playground.
I saw Superman here at the indoor theater, either in Dec. 1978 or early 1979. Notice the slope of the parking lot; it was high in one part, but had a slight bowl shape low elsewhere, maybe with a storm drain in the lowest part. I don’t recall if it was the time I saw Superman; but one evening there was a typical Tampa downpour during the movie, unknown to anyone watching the movie in the theater. When the movie ended and we went out to our cars, the whole lowest lying area of the parking lot flooded. Dozens of cars parked in that part of the lot were flooded halfway up to the door handles. Luckily, I was not one parked there. -Dan Perez
Thanks for the offer, Nick. That would be great if you could get a copy of it and email to me or post here. I have a friend who is the son of John Cinchett, owner of the neon sign company who did many of the neons for Tampa businesses in the 50s and 60s. When I saw your grand opening ad, I emailed it to him and he said his dad did do the signage, and hoped to see if there was an ad from him as well. You can see much more of Cinchett’s signs here: http://www.tampapix.com/vintagetampasigns1.htm
Nick, I’m interested in the ads you mention that were too large to scan. Was there one from the Cinchett Neon Sign company in Tampa? I believe they may have done the neon signage for the Tower Drive In entrance. Thanks. (Dan P.)
Nice work, Nick! So the soda fountain was about a block away from the Victory Theater, and same block, across from where the Tampa Theater was built in 1926.
Thanks DW! The soda fountain photo is from 1925. The write up here wasn’t clear to me when the Victory became the Palace. But if that transition didn’t take place after 1930, then as you said, it seems likely that the fountain wouldn’t have been called the Palace if it was still in the Victory in 1925.
Does anyone know if the “Palace Soda Fountain” was located in the Palace Theater? Fla. State archives has a photo of this soda fountain, but doesn’t relate it to the theater: http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/29183
There was another San Carlos theater in Key West before this one, owned and operated by James Harold “Harry” Burgert, one of the Burgert brothers family of photographers. Maybe it operated in a different building. It was in operation from as early as 1911 to 1912 and featured moving pictures and vaudeville acts. See about halfway down this web page, in the section about Harry Burgert. http://www.tampapix.com/BB3.htm. There are ads there for this theater, but they don’t give the address.
Sorry, meant to include that the Shakey’s radio ad is from 1966, when it just opened.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor was on the west side of Fla. Ave. at Bird St. Hear this radio ad I posted a while back. I think you’ll need to be a Facebook member to hear it, since I posted it at Tampa Natives facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=405216566157221&set=o.144613012277765&type=3&permPage=1
Also, this is before I-75 (now I-275) was built just to the right of the drive-in.
You can see the trailer park across the street in this 1957 Graber Aerial photo at the USF Digital Archives online. The photo is upside down, they have south at the top and north at the bottom. It needs to be rotated 180 degrees. http://digital.lib.usf.edu/downloads/?doi=G23-5700754&scale=1200&format=jpeg
If you zoom in on the 1969 historic aerial at the link the NYozoner posted, you can see just below and right of the Dale Mabry entrance marqee, the Biff Burger restaurant so popular with the drive-in patrons. You can even see the striped rooftop. Immediately behind it (to the right), is the triangular shaped playground.
I saw Superman here at the indoor theater, either in Dec. 1978 or early 1979. Notice the slope of the parking lot; it was high in one part, but had a slight bowl shape low elsewhere, maybe with a storm drain in the lowest part. I don’t recall if it was the time I saw Superman; but one evening there was a typical Tampa downpour during the movie, unknown to anyone watching the movie in the theater. When the movie ended and we went out to our cars, the whole lowest lying area of the parking lot flooded. Dozens of cars parked in that part of the lot were flooded halfway up to the door handles. Luckily, I was not one parked there. -Dan Perez
Nick, thanks so much! This is great!
Thanks for the offer, Nick. That would be great if you could get a copy of it and email to me or post here. I have a friend who is the son of John Cinchett, owner of the neon sign company who did many of the neons for Tampa businesses in the 50s and 60s. When I saw your grand opening ad, I emailed it to him and he said his dad did do the signage, and hoped to see if there was an ad from him as well. You can see much more of Cinchett’s signs here: http://www.tampapix.com/vintagetampasigns1.htm
See photo: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/32472/photos/29840
Nick, I’m interested in the ads you mention that were too large to scan. Was there one from the Cinchett Neon Sign company in Tampa? I believe they may have done the neon signage for the Tower Drive In entrance. Thanks. (Dan P.)