Herron Theatre
Lakeland,
FL
33801
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Herron's Theatre
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The Herron’s Theatre is a very early house in downtown Lakeland, opening its doors on October 1, 1908 with an unnamed Minstrel show. It appears that it closed on September 28, 1912 after a performance by the Maddock-Field Players plus a few short comedies and dramas, but managed to continue operating as a special events house for a little bit longer.
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Named after the owner.
The Sanborn map of Lakeland published in July, 1908 shows an “Electric Theatre” in a storefront that would by 1913 be numbered 122 S. Kentucky Avenue (it was 427 in 1908.) Even if the Herron didn’t open until October 1, 1908, this might still have been its location, if it had operated earlier under an as-yet unknown name or indeed as the Electric Theatre. There are no other movie houses indicated on the 1908 map, and by 1913 this storefront housed a boot and shoe shop.
The 1912-1913 Cahn guide and an article in the January 24, 1921 Lakeland Evening Telegram reveal that the Herron Theatre could only have been an aka for the old Lakeland Opera House at 121 Main Street. The Cahn guide lists the Herron as a 700-seat upstairs house. The 1921 newspaper article reported that the Herron building on Main Street had suffered some $15,000 damage in a fire. The upstairs theater itself had been closed for several months and was in process of being dismantled. The Herron is mentioned in the newspaper only infrequently after 1912, most often in the context of a special event of some sort, but it did manage to survive on such skimpy fare until 1920.