Cameo Theatre

This cinema has had many owners; at one point the city was unsure who the real owner was in the late 1980's. The last use as a cinema was as a last run cinema. we removed the projection equipment which was used in an art cinema in Coral Gables, Florida. The floor was leveled and the screen area removed and has been a club ever since.

The Cameo Theatre seated 1061 people when it was a movie theatre.

The Cameo theatre (located on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach) was originally owned by Womecto who had a theatre chain in Florida and which included the beautiful Carib Theatre (sadly demolished) on Lincoln Road as Wometco's flagship house in Miami Beach. The Cameo usually played second run engagements in the 1950s but went first run for the premiere engagement in Miami Beach of DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.

Bob

I was in South Beach recently and was forced to go clubbing, to my delight we were taken to CroBar, the exterior is wonderful and beautifully restored, the lobby area is still fairly as it was but sadly not a single vestige of the auditorium remains, it has been stripped back to the bare brick walls and roof beams.

In the 80's the Cameo was the punk rock mecca. I grew up going to shows there. From 1986-1992 I was there almost every weekend. The Cameo played a huge roll in the development of the Miami Undergound scene. Check out some of my concert tickets. http://home.att.net/~grapplewookie/go_sk8.htm

Wow! Excellent collection of ticket stubs. Neat graphic.

The Cameo was a dollar house in the 1970's. It had a small second lobby before one entered the balcony. I remember back then the second lobby still had its 1930's era ashtrays and armchairs. The smoking area was the balcony.

I saw many a double feature at the Cameo in the 70's. For 35 cents you got some great second run movies. It was also a place where the elderly Jewish neighbors would come in and sleep to get out of the heat. We'd buy candy next door at the McCrory's and sneak it in the theatre to save money. chaplinfan

This is featured on page 75 in Popcorn Palaces and is Davis Cone's favorite art deco popcorn palace in Miami Beach FL.

Cameo was great in the early 90's for Punk/Rock/Rap shows. I saw a great Beastie Boys concert there in May of 92 that is heavily bootlegged on VHS and is called "Ali Babba & The 40 Theives".
On Saturday nights and then Sunday nights they had Disco 2000 there. There was a huge back to 70's vibe in the 90's and this was before the club Polyesters was around and people would dress up and play the part, it was awesome.
I love the way the Cameo looks on the outside , it's a landmark in my eyes and my heart!

Here is a more updated photo of the Cameo Theatre.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/CameoTheatreMiamiBeachFl.jpg

Charles: Great photo! Thanks!

Couple nice color photos of the Cameo Theatre.
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1/cameo.jpg
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1/cameo2.jpg

i love this building, heres a couple of evening shots of the fantastic exterior

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48975319/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48977120/in/photostream/

Here is a B/W photo of the Cameo Theater and this is a color photo at night.

One more night view of the Cameo can be seen here.

A 2005 exterior photograph:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/505351101/505351101BOnDmu

Here is a night view of the Cameo marquee.

This is another photo of the Cameo Theater.

Here is a 2006 photo of the Cameo Theater.

This is another recent view of the Cameo Theater.

Does anybody know anything about a former Strand Theatre in Miami?

One morning while communting from my home in Hollywood down to my job in Coral Gables, I decided to avoid the terrible traffic on I-95 and find some avenue that ran parallel to the interstate. And somewhere between NW 29th Street and NW 14th Street along NW 7th Avenue I found a small theatre with a marquee and classic double doors. It was labeled the STRAND with the S having fallen off some time ago. It currently seems to be a small church/prayer home now. I will try to take some pictures of it. Can anybody here identify what part of town/neighborhood we would call this area? It's definitely industrial and very poor. Perhaps that might help with some research (where I'm finding NO luck).

A Strand once stood in North Miami Avenue and 1st street,does that seem about more or less the area you were in?

Catfish Henry, you're incorrect about "Disco 2000" at the Cameo, the night was on Sunday's and it was called "Disco Inferno".

I should know, I was the promoter of the night which ran a little over 6 years!.

http://www.305Disco.com

Stage Manager, I believe this is the theatre you're looking for.

While we're on the subject, is there a alternate listing for a Madonna Theater in Miami Beach? It's now a strip club, but it appears to be an old theater.

Ken, the Madonna is the Roxy and is listed here, somewhere.

Sorry to read about the Lincoln being closed. Anything announced as coming up there?

Wow Disco Inferno ther eis a name I have not heard or thought of in ages, but wow did I ever have a blast there, every Sunday we all went, me and the rest of us from our Club, as we were also Promoters at the time from another one nighter, well actually two nighters by then, but we had a blast, and so enjoyed it. Sometimes I even worked the door At the Cameo during that time and even on your days, *smiles* I was looking for some pics of the theatre and found this site and was shocked to see a post from an old fellow promoter, as I have long been out of the business, and away from SB. But I think of it often, I was looking for some info, a friend had asked if I knew what happened to the building behind the Cameo and I had no clue , can someone tell me what it is now? It would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any information on this mater.

Wow thinking of the other post about the shows, There were some AMAZING shows back int he day, I have an entire two photo albums filled with ticket stubs, and I know there is a few that got lost during the moves over the years, but man some of the shows I have seen can not be compared to anything I have sen since.
And the pits, Do I remember the pits. *smile*

Well off to do things I hope all have a great time and enjoy the memories. of this wonderful place, I know it will stay with me forever.

Hey LilBouncerGirl, the building directly behind the Cameo was the Warsaw Ballroom, unfortunately it is no longer a venue for a nightclub,it is now a deli!

Here are some photos from April 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/3xjg8e
http://tinyurl.com/37xy4d
http://tinyurl.com/2pqbsw

This is a nice photo of the Cameo at night.

The previous link isn't working so here is another night view of the Cameo.

1985 Photo

Another 1985 photo of the Cameo Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c9%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=25586
Another 1985 photo of the Cameo Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c9%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=25590
1987 night photo of the Cameo theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c9%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=25591

Here is a close-up shot of the Cameo marquee.

Cameo Theater photo