Circle Theater
33 Curtiss Parkway,
Miami Springs,
FL
33166
33 Curtiss Parkway,
Miami Springs,
FL
33166
1 person
favorited this theater
The Circle Theater was opened on January 15, 1949 with Gary Cooper in “Good Sam”. It was operated by the Claughton Theaters chain. It was located on the Circle in Miami Springs off Poinciana Boulevard. This theater played double features for a buck. Long known for playing “Reefer Madness” and several other cult classics.
The entrance to this theater was different from all others. There was a traditional ticket box office and the theater entrance was about 75 feet into the rear of a small strip mall or shopping center as it was know in those days. On the north side of the walkway was a Rexall Drugstore, which at one time had a full soda fountain/ice cream parlor. The ticket booth was later removed and the ticket office was relocated to the rear where the actual entrance to the theater was located. The Circle Theater was twinned on June 22, 1984 and closed in 1989. It was demolished in December 2019.
Contributed by
Louis Jimenez
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I was not there for any live shows as I was manager during the ABC Florida State Theatres and Plitt days. I did see Julio Iglesias movies at the Tivoli and am well aware of Alvarez Guedes albums and his movie, “A Mi Que Me Importa Que Explote Miami?”
Does that one ring a bell?
1982 photo of the Circle here.
Harvey,
Where did you get that great pic of Circle Theatre? Are there more? I am working on a memory album and that pic was great. Would love to get more.
Thanks
Hi Maria,
That link takes you to American Classic Images which sells prints of these photos. That site was a boon to many of us here as they have photos of old movies from across the nation. You can search whatever city/state you want there. Found a bunch of old Miami theaters.
Hi, this theater has always been located at the END OF N. POINCIANA BLVD IN HOOK SQUARE at the rear of 33 CURTISS PARKWAY. It’s current name is the Talia Circle Theater inc. and though not being used its not demolished either. The property was divided up and the front remodeled into the current strip mall, the rear of the property still bears traces of its theater days. Here’s a 1980’s pic before the remodel http://www.beautifulmiamisprings.com/galleries/historic/circle_theatre.jpg
My parents were the last to own this theater… Back then, it was a really fun place, I used to work there after school.. it was an arcade of shops, is what it was called back then. Really classic place. ..
No, it was never a Wometco Theater. It was built by my father, Edward N. Claughton in 1949. It was one of several Claughton theaters in Florida, including the Royal and Embassy in downtown Miami, as well as the
trail on 8th St. and the Variety on Miami Beach.
The Circle theatre opened on January 15th, 1949 with “Good Sam”. Grand opening ad uploaded.
Two screens on June 22nd, 1984.
The Circle Theater was demolished, along with the Parkway Shops building in front of it that included the hallway leading up to the theater’s entrance, starting the final week of December 2019:
“Going, Going, Gone” (A page of demolition process photos on MiamiSprings.com.)
“Farewell to the Circle Theater in Miami Springs” Facebook page from the Miami Springs Historical Society. (Check out some old photos and comments from people sharing memories.)
I first visited Miami Springs sometime in the 1990’s, where I was surprised to encounter a downtown environment with somewhat of a hometown feeling different from the rest of Miami-Dade County, arranged around a traffic circle and continuing on the streets radiating from it.
I felt attracted to the look of the Clune/Stadnik building, then the adjacent Parkway Shops, at which I was drawn in to this store-lined hallway that beckoned me to see where it leads…. and at the end discovered, oh, the entrance to a defunct cinema! At the time the glass doors were not covered with paper and I could peer through to identify the remains of a concession stand across a dusty lobby, like I’m a movie theater archaeologist. : )
In the 2000’s I’d stop by and check on the empty cinema when enjoying Miami Springs events such as the River Cities Festival. Some sort of Building Department permit posted on one of the doors for what seemed like years informed me that this had been the Circle Theater, though not much changed.
During a historic tour of the city, I learned that the Clune/Stadnik building and the Parkway Shops, as well as a few others within the municipality’s limits, the Curtiss Mansion in particular, were constructed in Pueblo Revival style, inspired by the architecture of New Mexico.
Over the years I got the impression that Miami Springs is a self-contained community with its own character, where you can obtain many of the goods and services you frequently need without leaving and a lot of the residents know each other: the teens socializing and doing school work at the Starbucks across from the Parkway Shops would run into others with whom they are familiar, though they had not necessarily planned to meet there; at the annual Independence Day Parade many of the spectators and participants seemed already acquainted… I felt it a shame that the Circle Theater was no longer operating to make the contribution to this communal experience that it must have in its day.
When I last visited for a small arts festival in 2018, something felt slightly different to me that I couldn’t precisely identify, like maybe the vibe of the city was starting to become more like the rest of Miami-Dade County. Then in 2020, as if to confirm my suspicions, I came across articles on MiamiSprings.com saying the Circle Theater and Parkway Shops buildings were gone, to be replaced by an apartment and retail complex whose design has nothing to do with the Pueblo Revival style probably unique in South Florida to Miami Springs.
At least Google Maps satellite view shows that the Clune/Stadnik building is still there, being that it is on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Miami Springs Historic Site.
If Miami Springs is gradually losing its character, those who remember or have gained an understanding will tell of a previous context in which the Circle Theater played its role.