Florida Theatre

30 Las Olas Boulevard,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Unfavorite 2 people favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: ABC Theatres, Paramount Pictures Inc.

Architects: Roy A. Benjamin

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Florida Theatre

The Florida Theatre was opened September 12, 1939 with “These Glamour Girls” starring Lew Ayers and Lana Turner. It was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary E.J. Sparkes. It closed in 1965.

Contributed by Al Alvarez, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 3, 2009 at 8:55 pm

The February 22, 1941, issue of Boxoffice published a photo of the new Florida Theatre at Fort Lauderdale. The theater was designed by Jacksonville architect Roy A. Benjamin.

ChasSmith
ChasSmith on December 5, 2010 at 8:46 pm

I’m looking through that issue of Boxoffice online, and am not finding the picture. Did I miss it? In the meantime, I’ll check a few other issues around that one.

View link

http://tinyurl.com/29wvcef

DavePrice
DavePrice on August 29, 2013 at 11:29 am

I believe the theater had begun to show movies prior to 1941. There was a Pete Smith Specialty shot at Clyde Beatty’s Jungle Zoo north of town where Gateway Shopping Center is now located. The short was said to have premiered at the Florida in June of 1940. Can anyone add to or correct this info? Thanks.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 2, 2014 at 12:48 pm

Dave Price is probably right. Work on E. J. Sparks' new theater on Las Olas Boulevard was “well under way” according to an item in the January 13, 1939, issue of The Film Daily. The Warnor and Colony were the downtown Fort Lauderdale theaters that opened in 1941. The Florida must have opened fairly early in 1939.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on October 15, 2015 at 2:06 am

Conceptualized as the Broward Theatre (architectural sketching by Roy A. Benjamin in photos), the theatre launched August 1, 1939.

rivest266
rivest266 on March 4, 2017 at 9:46 am

This opened on September 12th, 1939. Grand opening ad in the photo section. Article and picture:

Found on Newspapers.com powered by Newspapers.com

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.