Ritz Theater
1503 E. Seventh Avenue,
Tampa,
FL
33605
1503 E. Seventh Avenue,
Tampa,
FL
33605
2 people
favorited this theater
The Ritz Theater in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida was built in 1917 as the Rivoli Theater, expanded in the 1930’s as the Ritz Theater.
After closing as a movie theater in 1982 (screening adult movies), it became The Masquerade concert venue and nightclub, but this eventually closed in early-2006. On June 26, 2008 it re-opened as the Ritz Theater and is now used for concerts and special events.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 48 comments)
Ah yes! The changeover warning bell…something you’ll never hear in today’s multiplexes. The Ritz had a bell on each projector that was loud and clear. Whenever I heard the “ding!” I’d get set to look for the cue marks and anxiously watch the changeover. I also loved hearing the flap flap flap of the film as the reels ended their rewind. Now everyone on CT will know I’m nuttier than a fruitcake.
This photo is from the collection of Henry Fontanills. Here’s a great shot of several young boys standing onstage in front of the screen during an Optimists Club event in December 1937. Click
on photo and “view all sizes” to enlarge to super size: View link
Great Shot.You ain’t nuttier than a fruit cake.Sending a letter down.Thanks again for all the great pictures,ihave one FRAMED.
Here are my pictures from December 2010.
thanks Andy,Nick put a book together on this Theatre and ,well, you would probably go crazy like I did when he ran me off a copy, did he did some hard work reserching as only Nick could do.
Oh man, I’d love to get my hands on that book!
Mike, Thanx for the plug & the thumbs up, I can use the extra publicity…LOL! Remember you also did a great job on the National Hills book! Andy, if you’re reading this and are interested in a copy I can send you one if you’d like. It’s just a booklet listing all the films I saw here along with some history of the theatre and several anecdotes that I recall from years ago. Just email me your address at and I’ll mail you a copy.
Nick. it was 100 times better than what I did on National Hills.heck, I stole your Idea.LOl.
Long-lost drawings of the Ritz Theatre by architect M. Leo Elliot were discovered a couple of years ago. Here is one of them.
Elliott labeled the drawing Haya Theater. According to this web page, the theater was built on the site of Ybor City’s first cigar factory, founded by Serafin Sanchez and Ignacio Haya in 1886. It’s possible that members of the Haya family were involved in the development of the Ritz Theatre.
Thanks Joe for the drawing and additional info. Evidently the Ritz was also known as the Rivoli at some point during the early days. I remember seeing a photo with the Rivoli sign on the building. The drawing is very intriging. It may have opened as the Haya and was later changed to Rivoli and finally Ritz. Or possibly Haya was never used. Probably the only way to determine for certain is checking the city directory to see what’s listed at that address around or about 1917. I’ll put this on my to do list.