I was born and raised in Miami Beach and lived there most of my life. The Carib Theater was unique and gorgeous. The front wall of the theater had a huge map of the Caribbean above the marquee. The entrance promenade [yes! about 80 feet long & maybe 20 feet wide] had gold-veined mirrors on both the left & right sides, waterfalls [that misted visitors with cool water], a roof that opened to let sunlight in, and 3-4 multi-colored live parrots.
Once you passed the promenade there was an escalator [unheard of in a moviehouse in 1950] leading to the balcony. There were more ushers & lobby personnel to help you than in any other theater in all of Dade County. This was a place to dress up to go to the movies. Going to this theater was an event, yet it cost no more than any other theater.
There were other gorgeous theaters in Dade County. a few blocks down from the Carib were the Beach Theater & the Lincoln Theater. Down Washington Ave. was the Cinema Theater, which had been a Vaudeville Theater in the 20’s, with a completely Art Deco theme [if there’s interest, I’ll write about them.]
Across the bay in Miami, the Olympia Theater was a showplace with a panorama of a cityscape surrounding the screen.
I was born and raised in Miami Beach and lived there most of my life. The Carib Theater was unique and gorgeous. The front wall of the theater had a huge map of the Caribbean above the marquee. The entrance promenade [yes! about 80 feet long & maybe 20 feet wide] had gold-veined mirrors on both the left & right sides, waterfalls [that misted visitors with cool water], a roof that opened to let sunlight in, and 3-4 multi-colored live parrots.
Once you passed the promenade there was an escalator [unheard of in a moviehouse in 1950] leading to the balcony. There were more ushers & lobby personnel to help you than in any other theater in all of Dade County. This was a place to dress up to go to the movies. Going to this theater was an event, yet it cost no more than any other theater.
There were other gorgeous theaters in Dade County. a few blocks down from the Carib were the Beach Theater & the Lincoln Theater. Down Washington Ave. was the Cinema Theater, which had been a Vaudeville Theater in the 20’s, with a completely Art Deco theme [if there’s interest, I’ll write about them.] Across the bay in Miami, the Olympia Theater was a showplace with a panorama of a cityscape surrounding the screen.
Gary Dubler