Imperial Theatre
26 E. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
26 E. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
2 people
favorited this theater
An early theater designed by Jacksonville architect Roy A. Benjamin, the Imperial was located on Jacksonville’s “Great White Way”, Forsyth Street (along with the Florida and Palace Theatres, both designed by Benjamin as well).
With a fairly elegant neo-Georgian style facade, the interior of the Imperial was not quite as ornate as the exterior. The Imperial sat nearly 1000. The theater closed in the mid-50s and was razed in 1956, along with the nearby Palace, and today a parking garage is located on the site of both theaters.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
A photo of the Imperial’s exterior, dated 1941, can be seen here.
The seating capacity of the Imperial Theatre was 997 (651 Orchestra & 346 Balcony).
The information above that the Imperial closed and was torn down in the 1950’s is incorrect. It was still going strong during the ‘60’s as a 2nd run movie house. When I was in junior high school I often went downtown with my best friend to this theatre for horror movie double bills. The Empress theatre was right next door, a smaller theatre with similar bills. I remember seeing many of the Roger Cormon Edgar Allen Poe movies at the Imperial (Fall of the House of Usher, etc). It was not a movie palace like the Florida Theatre a couple of blocks away, but it still had vintage theatre charm from the pre-mall, pre-multi-plex days. Both the Imperial and Empress were still operating when I went away to college in the fall of 1969 and they continued to show movies for at least four or five years after that. As I moved to another part of the state after graduating, I lost track of such things, so I can’t say just when they shut down and were razed.
Here are some interior photos:
http://tinyurl.com/jdsdz
http://tinyurl.com/zkdqe
http://tinyurl.com/krcxx
There was always a double feature. Alot of Cowboys (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers). It was owned by the Florida State Theatres (which used to be Publix / Paramount) which also owned theFLORIDA,PALACE,ARCADE,IMPERIAL,CAPITOL, BRENTWOOD,EMPRESS and I think the FAIRFAX, also the SAN MARCO and the EDGEWOOD — all In Jacksonville
The Imperial opened in 1920 and closed in 1969. When it opened in 1920 seating was listed at that time as 1120.
Nice vintage photos.
From the late 1930s a postcard view of Forsyth Street along with the Imperial and Palace Theatres in Jacksonville.
More photos of The Imperial are available on the Facebook page Pop Retrorama. You can also read about some Florida theaters and drive-ins on www.popretrorama.com where we celebrate all things related to vintage pop culture.