Carib Theater
1148 Cleveland Street,
Clearwater,
FL
33755
1148 Cleveland Street,
Clearwater,
FL
33755
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I’m currently researching this theater. I have some nice Kodachromes I will be posting. The marquee was similar to the Carib Theatre in Miami.
Contributed by
Steve Howell
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
The Carib closed in early June, 1983. Floyd briefly considered buying the old Ritz Theatre and moving operations there, but, as you could imagine, that fell through. Admission was 99 cents and the theater still played the national anthem before every show up until the end.
Floyd Theatres HAD the Whole state it seemed to me!Much like MARTIN Theatres in Georgia.
Here’s direct links to the photos I tried to post:
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Thunderbird Drive-In… Wasn’t that by the Wagon Wheel Flea Market? Also I recall the Mustang Drive-In on Belcher in Clearwater.
On Belecher road and Cleveland St (which ended at Belecher) was the Gulf to Bay drive in.
Floyd did have a lot of theatres at the end of the “good ole days”.
My grandparents and their brothers & sisters had a small chain of indoor and outdoor theatres throughout the state of Florida back in the day. The last one they had was the outdoor theatre off the highway in Bartow. It is a flea market now. But the building is there; restrooms on either side of the building, the concession stand in the center and upstairs was the “house”. I remember laying in my grandmother’s bed while she work the concession downstairs, watching the cartoons then the movie through the wide window that was directly center of the screen.
The Carib Theatre was one of the first to be constructed specifically for the showing of Cinemascope and other new techniques. The theatre was built at a cost of $400,000. The main feature of the front of the theatre was a porcelain enamel map of the Caribbean Sea. The facade was illuminated by fluorescent lighting at night.
The Carib had a seating capacity of 1,050 when it opened including two loges where smoking permitted when it opened. The dominant hues of the theatre color scheme, avacado and coral were also featured in the lobby. The walls were coral and a pale green strip of terrazzo extended beyond the doors and around the entire lobby.
The owner when the Carib opened was EnVee Corp and the operater was Bay-Lan Theatre Corp. The architect was James E. Casale. The theatre sat on a lot that measured 200'x250'.
Driving from Tampa on our way to Clearwater Beach during the 50s & 60s we would pass this theatre but unfortunately I never had a chance to stop and see a movie or at least see the interior. When the building was demolished there was a feature story published in the Tampa Tribune including interviews with several loyal patrons and how sad there were to see the theatre come down. Before demolition began a few people had arrived early to take whatever souveniers they could grab and carry out of the theatre. The Carib was replaced by a Barnett Bank building.
Described in this 1954 trade article: boxoffice
Tinseltoes-Thank you for uploadind the article.Very cool!