Carib Theatre
230 Lincoln Road,
Miami Beach,
FL
33139
230 Lincoln Road,
Miami Beach,
FL
33139
6 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wometco Theatres
Architects: Michael J. DeAngelis, Roy F. France
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
Opened on December 22, 1950, this Wometco flagship site had a moving ceiling that exposed the lobby garden to the sun.
Designed by architect Michael DeAngelis, with architect Roy F. France as associate, this was one of Florida’s best theaters and yet was allowed to deteriorate. It closed in 1977 and was gutted in 1979. The building stood as a shopping arcade of sorts until it was demolished in December 2015.
Contributed by
Al Alvarez
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Recent comments (view all 32 comments)
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
Gary Dubler: Yes, I love hearing such stories and details especially of theaters I did not get to experience, and I hope you share more. Each of the Dade County theaters you mention also have their own pages and comments sections here on Cinema Treasures.
Wish I could watch an archival video of what a patron saw and experienced while entering and walking through the lobby then into the auditorium.
The Ross grand opening was July 18th. As a small concession to the history of the location, the developers incorporated a map of the Caribbean on a giant glass pane which is part of the new facade. This same map existed above the Carib marquee. See link below:
http://mbcurrent.com/post/162578901040
Late `50s postcard added.
Just saw this housed the Miami roadshow engagement of Funny Girl. Was anyone in it to see roadshow films? Were there other roadshows here? Was there a widescreen with a curtain placed in front of the proscenium to allow for a much larger image?
This really looks like a spectacular place to have seen a movie. Especially a roadshow film.
The late 50s postcard DavidZornig posted is even more spectacular than the early 50s. What colors! Like a dream Miami out of a 20th Century Fox musical. I imagine the street is pretty depressing today.
vindanpar, it did not run many Roadshows because Wometco was not a big fan of those after the failure of “SPARTACUS” at their 163rd Street theatre. It did host many World Premieres if the stars were in town for winter performances at local hotels. It did run exclusive area runs of PLANET OF THE APES, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE, CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and CABARET among others in a town where non-roadshow exclusives were rare.
I thought because Miami had so many tourists and older snowbirds it would be a major roadshow town. My parents had their honeymoon there in the 50s. From the photos people dressed so well. I would have loved to have seen it.
It was a major Roadshow town but Brandt and ABC had most of the runs. The main Roadshow venues were Sheridan, Beach, Colony, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and later Sunny Isles and Dadeland twin. By the way AIRPORT also had a Carib exclusive.