Southgate Cinemas

The Southgate Rocking Chair Theatre and its sister location, the Tarpon Mall Rocking Chair Theatre, were built toward the end of the single-screen, suburban theatre era of cinema exhibition. The theaters featured comfortable seating, large screen, lots of free parking away from downtown theaters, and often either automated or large format film projection along with enhanced sound. Both theaters were new-build locations launching in 1969 for Floyd Theatres representing the circuit’s 43d and 45th theaters and their fourth and sixth “rocking chair” locations.

The Southgate Shopping Center had opened theatre-less on December 2, 1964 anchored by a Publix grocery store and a Bealls department store. In 1968, Southgate expanded doubling in size and adding a 460-seat automated theatre by Carl Floyd of Floyd Theatres as an outparcel the back south end of the complex to take advantage of a large parking area. As noted, basically the same theater, a rocking chair suburban, theater was being built in Tarpon Springs for Floyd initially under the working name of Mall Rocking Chair Theatre.

The Southgate expansion included a planned Eckerd Drug’s big box J. Bryon Department Stores and a W.T. Grant variety store. Floyd Theatres installed Robert Sturgeon as the inaugural manager moving of the Southgate Theatre coming over from the Midway Drive-In. The venue launched on May 21, 1969 with James Garner in “Support Your Local Sheriff". A big moment happened when Robert Redford made a surprise visit during the showing of “The Great Waldo Pepper” in 1975.

Closing for a week in April of 1977, the venue reopened now with two, 230-seat auditoriums as the Southlake Rocking Chair Twin Theatre with Julie Harris in “The Hiding Place” and Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky” on April 15, 1977. Floyd’s Tarpon Mall location would also be twinned into two, 230-seat auditoriums on March 16, 1978. On September 15, 1979, Cobb Theatres took on the Southgate.

The multiplex era built movie houses began picking off the suburban single and duplex venues. Cobb built the Embassy 6 Theatre opening five miles away across from the Gulfview Square Mall launching on December 21, 1979. But Cobb stood firmly behind the Southgate until Norbert Walz’s Fairmount Square Plaza saw Floyd Theatres launch a six-theater multiplex, opened in August 22, 1986. The Southgate Twin lost customers and was closed at the expiry of its 20-leasing on September 11, 1988 with Mark Harmon in “Stealing Home” and Emilio Estevez in “Young Guns".

Two former Southgate Twin employees, Jean Desrosiers and Eugene Waite, took on the venue as an independent movie house relaunching within two weeks of its initial closure. Desrosiers managed it for three more years though closing - citing lack of support - with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and Keanu Reeves in “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” on October 3, 1991. The building has since been demolished.

Get Movie Tickets & Showtimes

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.