San Marco Theatre
1996 San Marco Boulevard,
Jacksonville,
FL
32207
1996 San Marco Boulevard,
Jacksonville,
FL
32207
4 people
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Related Websites
San Marco Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: ABC Florida State Theatres, E.J. Sparks Theatres, Florida State Theaters Inc., Plitt Theatres
Architects: Roy A. Benjamin
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: San Marco Art Theatre
Nearby Theaters
E.J. Sparks Theatres opened the San Marco Theatre on June 5, 1938 with Edward G. Robinson in “A Slight Case of Murder” & William Boyd in “Hopalong Rides Again”. The beautifully maintained San Marco Theatre remains immune to the travails of time and the Art Deco style movie palace is still showing movies after 63 years. On September 25, 1962 it went over to screening arthouse movies and was renamed San Marco Art Theatre. Featured on the back cover of Davis Cone’s book “Popcorn Palaces”, the San Marco Theatre is one of the most elegant and opulent cinemas in the city, designed by architect Roy Benjamin. It was closed on January 1, 2023 with Alan Rickman in “Love Actually”.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
The San Marco theatre continues to operate independently and, apparantly, thrive. The last time I was in Jacksonville, Pirates of the Caribbean:Dead Man’s Chest was playing…and the first night we went to buy tickets they were sold out. We went the following night and the crowd was equally healthy, though we did manage to get tickets. They have removed every third seat in the theatre and installed tables. They sell pizza, wine, beer, sandwiches, etc. and a lot of people eat before the movie. The place is very well maintained. It’s great to see a vintage theatre like the San Marco not only surviving, but competing head to head with the multi-plexes. I think after Pirates they were showing Talladega nights, so they appear to be first-run consistently. They also program midnight movies and specialty movies on weekends. The surrounding neighborhood has always been nice, but has become very “hot”…lots of building going on, trendy shops, etc. It’s a lovely part of Jacksonville, on the south side across the St. John’s River from downtown…many big, beautiful riverfront homes from the 20’s and 30’s when the area was developed, but also many apartment buildings and duplexes, so the area is lively and quite urban. Well worth a visit by lovers of vintage movie houses.
It is the only “old” movie theatre operating in Jacksonville. 70 years in 2008. As a kid in the late forties and early fifties I used to live there. I remember seeing THE OUTLAW there in the 40’s (re-release I guess). I told my parents I was seeing something else at one of the downtown theatres. We all laughed when they installed Cinemascope because the theatre seemed so small — how can such a small theatre showCINEMASCOPE? I also saw NIAGARA there with Marilyn Monroe and it changed by social life forever. A friend’s mom took us to it saying she heard the scenics of the falls were beautiful.
I am fortunate to live close to this theatre and see films in it periodically. My newfound infatuation with art deco also moves me to learn more about this theatre and other deco buildings in Jacksonville, esp. in the St. Nicholas area(wonderful glass brick signs there!)
Here is a 2009 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ykjdvq9
Here are two pictures from July 2010.
Theatre added a second screen about five years ago. New owners took over in 2019 including a manager had been with the original owners for 10 years. It was announced just a few days ago that sadly this Theatre would be closing permanently as of January 1. The reason being streaming services and not very good product consistently from Hollywood this year. Along with declining attendance. Streaming services and bad studio deals are killing off wonderful independent theaters like the San Marko more than Covid
Grand opening ad posted.
Reopened as the San Marco Art theatre on September 25th, 1962. Ad posted.
Grand opening ad:
San Marco theatre opening 04 Jun 1938, Sat The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Florida) Newspapers.com
The San Marco Theatre’s run as an art house in the early-1960s only lasted for several years (with the exception of a December 1965 run of “My Fair Lady”). It immediately went back to mainstream movies by the late-1960s. During that time, it was operated by Florida State Theatres. It was later operated by ABC Florida State Theatres, and later Plitt Theatres.