Imperial Theatre
26 E. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
26 E. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
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From the late 1930s a postcard view of Forsyth Street along with the Imperial and Palace Theatres in Jacksonville.
Nice vintage photos.
The Imperial opened in 1920 and closed in 1969. When it opened in 1920 seating was listed at that time as 1120.
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
Here are some interior photos:
http://tinyurl.com/jdsdz
http://tinyurl.com/zkdqe
http://tinyurl.com/krcxx
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.
The seating capacity of the Imperial Theatre was 997 (651 Orchestra & 346 Balcony).
A photo of the Imperial’s exterior, dated 1941, can be seen here.