Athens Theatre
124 N. Florida Avenue,
DeLand,
FL
32720
124 N. Florida Avenue,
DeLand,
FL
32720
5 people
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“I am not well acquainted with the Athens Theatre in DeLand, Florida. I have driven by it many times, but have not been inside. I do know that restoration efforts are going on, and shows take place there from time to time.”
The theater was built around 1922 and the name relates to DeLand’s founders' dreams of having their small city be the "Athens of the South." (DeLand, county seat of Volusia County, Florida, is home to Stetson University and is about 20 miles west of Daytona Beach).
The Athens Theatre was renovated in 2008, and reopened in early 2009.
Contributed by
Tom Brown
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Recent comments (view all 48 comments)
Here is a 2009 night view.
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1981 Photo
Here are two recent interior photos courtesy of Irv Lipscomb.
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The status of the Athens should be changed to open.
The June 7, 1952, issue of Boxoffice devoted its Modern Theatre section to articles about remodeling, and one of the theaters featured was the Athens. The article said that the architects for the remodeling were Kemp, Bunch & Jackson, and that the new configuration of the auditorium provided space for 812 seats.
My friend Donna who lives in nearby Deltona told me she saw Cosi Fan Tutti here recently. Of course I only wanted to know about the theater (I already know about Mozart…), and here it is! I love finding restored gems like this one.
During the ‘50s and '60s, the Athens was owned by longtime DeLand resident Bill Tison, who also owned Bill Tison Auto Sales to the left of the cinema.
Here is a picture from 1943.
“Before and After” images in this 1951 trade ad: boxofficemagazine
Amazing that the area can support a single screen theatre of this size.