Carib Theatre

The Carib Theatre is located at 230 Lincoln Road and it seated 1061 people.

Growing up in Miami,I often attended this beautiful theatre as a child. I remember the lush tropical lobby garden complete with running streams and parrots. The auditorium was spectacular with rocking chair seats and lighted maps of the Caribbean on the walls. It had a giant screen to show CinemaScope films (mostly 20th FOX films). You can catch a glimpse of this beautiful theatre's marquee in a featurette that is included on one of the DVD's in the first Marilyn Monroe box set. I believe its at the premiere of THE GLENN MILLER STORY. I think the Carib (I believe it was built in 1950) was the most beautiful theatre on Lincoln Road.




Bob



Bob

The Carib Theatre opened on December 22nd, 1950, the architects of the theatre were Michael DeAngelis and associate Roy France.

The marquees of the Carib, Miami, and Miracle Theatres can be seen in a "bonus" DVD packaged with the recent RCA Bluebird CD, "Glenn Miller: The Centennial Collection." The B&W film clip is taken from a Universal newsreel covering the 1954 premiere of "The Glenn Miller Story," which was attended by James Stewart, star of the movie.

The architect for the Carib in Miami Beach is Michael J. DeAngelus, based in Rochester NY, who designed h;undreds of theatres all over th U.S. confirm this with him, if you like, at 716 325-3355.

An photo of the front of the Carib Theatre was printed in the New York Sunday Times Magazine of October 9th. The 1959 film The Best of Everything, with Joan Crawford and Hope Lange, appears on the marquee.

I think that the seating capacity reported here is incorrect. Theatre Catalog of 1950-51 has a big photo spread on the new theatre and says that it seats 2,200. I would believe that, as the orchestra floor had three wide sectins of seats, and upstairs there was a large balcony with separate loge section at the front. The 1954 FDYB goes even further by reporting 2,500!

There is an entire chapter devoted to the Carib theater in the book Miami Beach: Blueprint of an Eden, published by Feierabend Unique Books, Nov-Dec, 2005. Available on Amazon.

Here are some early images copied from Theatre Catalog (1950-51):
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib1.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib2.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib3.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib4.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib5.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib6.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib7.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib8.jpg

Following is some descriptive copy from Theatre Catalog: "Easily one of the finest theatres erected in 1950, the 2,200-seat Carib was opened December 22, in one of the city's most fashionable shopping districts. As such, it commands an excellent admission scale...In keeping with its name and location, a Caribbean theme prevails throughout the theatre. The front bears a huge map of the area done in raised porcelain, the open-air patio-foyer has a tropical atmosphere, and the auditorium is designed with a distinct under-sea motif...From the large main foyer, where a wide candy bar is situated, an escalator moves upward toward the mezzanine. This is enclosed with glass in the front to afford a full view of the patio-foyer entrance, wherein are found flagstone walls and floors, a huge antique mirror, and flying birds made of plexiglas...There is a television lounge on the second floor and another set in the foyer...In the auditorium, the cartouche design on either side of the proscenium arch signifies a floating sheet with mystic designs of undersea life and is made of plexiglas and ornamental plaster with indirect lighting. The proscenium arch has bases of Octopus-design which, when indirectly lighted, make the proscenium appear to float in mid-air."...The Carib apparently did not have full stage facilities. The area behind the screen is simply described as "platform"...The orchestra floor has three wide sections of seats, but curiously, only the center section continues to the rear. About two-thirds of the way back, the left and right sections suddenly divide into two sections with a center aisle. The seats in those four rear sections also appear to be different from the reset of the orchestra seats.

heres a couple of shots taken last week of the former carib, sadly the wonderful frontage and marquee has gone, but the auditorium block still stands, the front is boarded up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/130992585/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/130997226/in/photostream/

Does anybody have a clue as to the condition of the hulk?This is clearly the largest theater space sitting in Miami Beach.

A picture of this theater may be found with an accompanying article from 1951 here:
http://centraltheater.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-draperies-will-lead-to-your.html

Carib exterior at night.

http://preview.aalvarez733.photosite.com/album1/scan0013.html

Ditto:

http://preview.aalvarez733.photosite.com/album1/scan0017.html

Here are new links to old Carib photos;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25725093@N07/2419110658/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25725093@N07/2419116252/sizes/l/

These are new links to five of the images described above on 10/22/05 at 8:49am. I don't have room in my scrapbook for the other three, but I will be happy to send them to anyone who contacts me privately at my e-mail address in the membership list:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib1.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib2.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib3.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib4.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/carib5.jpg

Grand opening ad (for this theatre and the West Hollywood Drive-In) is at http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kbsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5usFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3435%2C749332