Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater
280 Miracle Mile,
Coral Gables,
FL
33134
280 Miracle Mile,
Coral Gables,
FL
33134
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 28 comments
Robert E. Collins was the associate architect with William H. Lee
Closed as a full-time cinema on April 12th, 1995.
4 screens opened on November 23rd, 1983. Grand opening ad posted.
I walked by a couple days ago and noticed the classic box office on the sidewalk seems to be a tourist information kiosk during the day, then reverts to being the Playhouse box office when there is a show, so perhaps “Information Kiosk” could be added to the functions list.
1948 Grand Opening photo courtesy of The Actors Playhouse at the Miracle Theater.
I used to go to the children’s matinee on Saturdays, approximately 1970 – 73. Is there one site that would list the films each summer? I am trying to avoid combing through the Miami Herald files online (if they exist).
In 1992 or 93 some scenes for the feature “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway” were filmed in the Miracle Theater. I remember reading a Miami Herald article about the screenwriter being from South Florida, seeing it mentioned on tv news, and walking by and seeing the area closed off for production.
When the film was released it played at the Miracle – and I just had to see it in the cinema where some of it was filmed!
I had the interesting experience of sitting there watching the film… and suddenly the scene on the screen is in the lobby behind me, that I had just walked through to get to my seat!
Richard Harris is a theater employee who takes the ticket of theater-goer Shirley MacLaine (if I remember all this correctly). They are standing by what may still be the restrooms on the right side of the lobby near a staircase. Then they are in a movie theater with a film playing – most likely in the same theater where I am sitting watching this, or in one of the adjacent others in the same building!
This page of Showmen’s Trade Review for August 20, 1949, features six photos of the Miracle Theatre.
I remember the Coral, the Gables and the Miracle. Huricane Andrew took the ornate sign of the Miracle, which is now a playhouse, and the other two are gone.
There has never been another Miracle Theatre in South Florida except for this one, Chuck. I went there when it was a single, a twin and also when it was a quad. It was then restored to a single screen for plays.
How could a theatre at 3465 N.W. 2nd Avenue ever have been in Coral Gables?
1948, 1978 and 1983 grand opening ads are now in the photo section.
They are worth a lifetime of cherished memories.
If you want to sell your legacy for dollars, try craigslist.
Here is a photo from September 2010.View link
Thanks, Al!
Hi Michael.
The Miracle opened as a twin on June 23, 1978.
View link
In what year did the Miracle get twinned?
December 7th, 1948 grand opening ad is at View link
November 23rd, 1983 reopening as a quad View link
Photo of the Miracle from 1981 here.
Loved the children’s matinees in the late 60s/early 70s. When I returned to UM in the 80s, I HATED that they had chopped up the theater.
In 1995 InterAmerica Stage, Inc. installed new stage rigging and a FOH lighting bar. The Artistic Director later desired superior lighting positions for the auditorium. In the late 90’s a full structural front of house catwalk and side lighting positions were manufactured and installed by IAstage.
The unique 300 seat performance space was created by closing off the balcony, using a portion of the original seating riser, walling off the balcony rail to the main auditorium. The outcome is a fabulous and intimate performance space. The Technical Manager labored over how to provide lighting positions for the unique space. Mark Black from IAstage was contacted to assist in the design of the planned lighting catwalks for the challenging space.
Sometime during the numerous planning discussions a light bulb went off†says Black. “How about a tension wire grid?†Well, the rest is history, a wire grid was installed giving the flexibility for creative lighting design while offering a safe means of access to the lights for the stage technicians. The grid system proved to be such a success, a second tension grid system was installed over the main stage.
http://iastage.com/historical_renovations
Another link about the Miracle.
View link
In the mid seventies, once the downtown houses turned to soft core and blaxploitation, a bus ride to Miracle Mile provided access to the Coral, Gables, Miracle and eventually the Cinematheque. The nearby Twin Gables and Trail provided other choices. When the Coral and Gables went, the Miracle split into two and then four screens. The Twin Gables became the Gables Triple and the whole neighborhood soon settled for the Miracle Center Multiplex outside the Gables. That short-lived latter complex was so daunting even the parking lot was a challenge, so steep my Toyota fell backwards and threw me out every time I tried to get in. Nowadays locals make due with the AMC Sunset Place, a new stadium seated improved version of the Bakery Center, Riviera and Sunset. Alas, the city of Coral Gables has no movie theatres to keep the little shops on Miracle Mile alive at night.
In the late 40’s and 50’s, tv sets were rare and small. Since each Wometco theatre had a nice, big set tuned to WTVJ, we were glad to pay the admission to watch favorite shows, and never even went into the auditorium to watch the movie, which was decidedly NOT “better than ever”.
I saw EARTHQUAKE at the Miracle Theatre in 1974 and boy did the theatre shake. It was really scary, that is until I moved to Los Angeles and encountered the real thing.