Florida Theatre
205 E. Flagler Street,
Miami,
FL
33131
205 E. Flagler Street,
Miami,
FL
33131
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Florida Theatre manager Ralph Puckhaber was head of marketing for ABC Florida State Theatres when I started working for them in 1974, twenty years after the article above was published. He was a flamboyant man who always wore plaid jackets with his trademark pink socks.
Spotlighted in this 1954 trade report: boxoffice
It was THE theater that showed Cinerama. And the box office lady proudly boasted a very youthful neckline.
I have vague memories of the Rex Theatre in Miami. I may have
been in it once with my parents, but don’t remember for sure. In
1947 or so, when I was around six, I think it burned down, or
burned partially. I do remember my parents telling me it had
wood floors. The Florida, as I recall, was mostly a new building.
This Miami News article contradicts Boxoffice and says the Florida is a remodel of the Rex.
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According to Boxoffice magazine (November 20, 1961)the Rex building was torn down for the Florida. It states that the Rex and Hippodrome were the same location but the Florida was a new building.
A few views of the Hippodrome Theatre here:
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Another vintage view of the Hippodrome Theatre on the corner of Avenue B:
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At the Florida in 1966.
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Cinerama in Miami.
http://cinematreasures.org/news/20931_0_1_0_C/
miamiguy, since the Rex closed only a year before the Florida opened, you are most likely correct that this was most likely a modern conversion of the Rex.
The Rex operated from 1931 to 1947 and the Florida from 1948 to 1974.
Here is a 1948 photo, the year it became the Florida.
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Here’s a heavily cropped photo of the Rex Theater from 1932. I included the Ponce de Leon Hotel (at right) in the crop as a point of reference to compare with other photos that may surface.
The Hippodrome that Al mentioned over on the Town Theater’s page is off to the left of the woman in white.
This Miami map from 1938 shows the “Rex Theater” on East Flagler Street, and the map’s index lists the address for the Rex as “207 E. Flagler St.”
So, I’m wondering if the Florida wasn’t an expansion or a re-build of the original Rex Theater?
Florida Theatre, downtown Miami.
http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/77098085
Ad for 3 -strip Cinerama at the Florida, downtown Miami.
http://cinerama.topcities.com/florida.htm
Being raised in Coral Gables (winter months) from 1957 to 1970 Coming from a family of Canadian theatre owners, I use to spend a lot of time in movie theatres. The Florida had a big enough interior, a little art deco style, I remember seeing OUR MAN FLINT there (1966) the marquee displayed ‘Who needs 007’ we’ve got “OUR MAN FLINT”…
I saw NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and several single projector Cinerama films here as a kid. As a black action house in the early 70’s the ABC Florida had a riot during a showing of THE BUS IS COMING that was quite sensationalized in the local news.
The interior was quite modern compared to the other downtown theatres. The Swedish cashier did not understand the M rating and kept chasing me away from the box office. Years later I became her manager at the Shores Theatre and we laughed about it.
The address listed for the Florida Theater is:
205 E Flagler St
Miami, FL 33131
The Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 gives the Florida Theatre a seating capacity of 1,000.
I saw “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” in this theatre…the line wrapped around the block to 2nd Avenue and it was packed.