Tropic Theatre
122 W. Main Street,
Leesburg,
FL
34748
122 W. Main Street,
Leesburg,
FL
34748
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I believe it about the spirits in this theater is a ton of them at the old palace theater in Leesburg Florida no sightings of goals but you can hear things in this building is not a state of mind all over the stage a shadow lady in the bathroom cabinet opening and shutting on their own and they will get upset if you don’t read them when you walk through Palace theater anybody know if it’s reported that people pass away in these buildings and where could you find them
It appears that this theatre is no longer showing movies. The website is down and the phone goes unanswered. Only info on the web is for live theater performances.
The original architect of the Fain Theatre was Roy A. Benjamin. Here is the announcement of the opening from the January 24, 1936, issue of The Film Daily:
All the pictures were nice,nice story Steve.I too,worked in an old theatre,always strange sounds,but no ghosts.No such thing.It is all in the mind.
Here are my pictures from August 2010.
The architect for the 1960 remodeling of the Fain Theatre into the Tropic, which was quite extensive, was Rufus E. Bland. Bland was the long-time in-house architect for the Martin circuit, and MCM, the company that operated the Tropic, was a partnership that included members of the Martin family. The remodeled theater had 450 seats, according to an article in Boxoffice of April 3, 1961, which was accompanied by three small photos of the house.
In 1973, after moving to Leesburg, I went to work at the Tropic. She was a grand old lady but spooky. ON a Sunda, while getting things set up, I was in the new side projection room. Out of the corner of my eye, i saw someone in a checkered shirt walk by to get to the old side. I thought it was my coworker. I heard the front door banging, so I went downstairs and it was my coworker. I asked him how he got locked out. He sai he just got there. I told him I sa him going to the old side. We both walked to the old side projection room. The machines were threaded and in the corner of the room was the checkered shirt I saw. That same night, while cleaning up in the old 1936 theater, I looked up and saw the lights on in the projection room. I dont know how they were on because you turned off everything at the circuit board. After cleaning up, my coworker and I heard someone walking towards the stairs. The lights upstairs turned on and we heard the stairs creak like someone was coming down. We shut the door and left the building. As we drove away, I looked back and saw the door to the upstairs slowly open but no one was there. It still makes my hair stand up thinking about it.
In 1963 the Tropic was part of the MCM Theater Co, based in the Tropic building in Leesburg. The IMPA for that year states that the Tropic Florida in Leesburg was for “colored patronage”, so apparently the theater was segregated at that time.
The Theater was in full operation during the Churches occupation.
The Church was only there for 1 year and they leased the older side of the Tropic on Sunday mornings only. The Calvary Babtist Church had around 100 members and once in a while they helf Christian Rock concerts at the theater as well. The membership left when their new building was completed.
The Tropic was taken over by a church from 1991 to 1993, according to the church website:
http://tinyurl.com/2dhlxh
1989-1995 I operated the Tropic Twin, only I called it the Tropic Cinemagic Theater. I cleaned up the machines which hadn’t run in over 10 years, and started running first run films. Due to other investments, I closed the theater in 95'. There was a new owner who ran it again in 1999, but that was short lived due to an accident. In 2003 the Kareoke people removed the original silver screen and rocking chair seating in order to create his sing along lounge.
Here is an undated photo:
http://urlcut.com/1cbbz
Is this theatre open yet?