Roxy Theatre
38 W. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
38 W. Forsyth Street,
Jacksonville,
FL
32202
3 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: E.J. Sparks Theatres, Paramount Pictures Inc.
Previous Names: Republic Theatre, Roxy Follies Theatre
Nearby Theaters
I discovered and photographed the Roxy Theatre in about 1984. It was a plain white building with a small vertical sign attached on the front spelling “Roxy” in black letters outlined with neon. It had two movie poster frames on each side of the entrance. It also had a small overhang over the entrance that said “Theatre” on the front and “Roxy” on the sides. It was showing pornographic movies at that time (according to the advertising) and was known as the Roxy Follies Theatre. It was in a dangerous part of Jacksonville.
Contributed by
Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 23 comments)
I will never get over the fact that before we entered the building to start the day at about 12:00 noon,we could hear the movie running but when we entered it would shut down. Checked all doors,all is well. Go figure…..
When I quit threading the projectors at night before closing up and going home it all stopped but before opening up the next day,you could hear conversations through the door before opening up. When you put the key in the door you could hear a womans voice say Shhhh.
It was very common for patrons to complain that a woman would sit beside them out of thin air and start talking about old movies that played there. I prescreened a movie one late night with witnesses and we had the same problem on a constant basis. Did she die there?
The correct address for this theatre is 2412 W. Beaver St.
32299
Woops 32209. The theatre it self was only 45 feet wide by 200 feet long. The two buildings to the right of it used to be a motion picture production lab back in mid to late 60’s.It was American Productions inc. and they shot and edited movies such as “Fireball Jungle” starring John Russel.
Not sure.as to which of these two addresses is but nothing resembling the photo above appears at either address. The status should be changed to “Demolished”.
In Jacksonville, there were two Roxy theaters. The first one originally opened as the Republic Theatre on November 14th, 1914. Unfortunately, it closed its doors in 1931. However, it was given a new lease on life when Spark’s Theatres reopened it on December 1st, 1935.
The other theater that Mr. Lewis photographed in 1984 was the Roxy Theatre located at 2412 West Beaver. This theater had a different vibe—it opened on June 18th, 1966, specializing in adult movies.
Grand opening ads posted.
The Roxy downtown closed in 1946.