Gem Theater
118 NW 1st Avenue,
Mulberry,
FL
33860
118 NW 1st Avenue,
Mulberry,
FL
33860
3 people favorited this theater
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Gem Theater (Official)
Additional Info
Functions: Movies (Classic), Performing Arts
Nearby Theaters
I found this theater while driving through downtown Mulberry. It opened as the Gem Theater in 1947, with 450 seats. It was closed on September 1, 1957 and became a union hall.
It was extensively renovated and reopened as the Gem Theatre in 2021, a movies and performing arts space.
Contributed by
Andy
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Thanks for that information. Couldn’t find anything online.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferret111/4148264696/
This house is probably the one called the Gem Theatre. Boxoffice of September 14, 1957, reported that the International Chemical Workers Council had bought the Gem Theatre in Mulberry from its operators, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Arnold. The equipment was not included in the $20,000 sale price, but the Council was considering purchasing that as well and reopening the theater.
The Gem was not very old at the time of its sale. Boxoffice of April 5, 1947, reported under the dateline Mulberry, Fla., “R. T. Arnold’s new 450-seat Gem Theatre here is now open.” This was apparently a replacement for (or perhaps an extreme remodeling of) an earlier Gem Theatre operated at Mulberry by the Arnolds which was mentioned in a July, 1946 issue of Boxoffice.
Street view updated.
R. T. Arnold planned to rebuild the Gem as early as 1941, when the August 29 issue of The Film Daily carried this announcement:
I suspect that the project didn’t get under way soon enough to avoid the building restrictions imposed by the War Production Board following the entry of the United States into WWII, and that would account for the new Gem not being opened until 1947.Closed On September 1, 1957.
After extensive renovation reopened this year as a venue for films and performing arts. Uploaded some pix from their Facebook page.