Beach Theatre

315 Corey Avenue,
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Florida State Theaters Inc.

Architects: M. Winfield Lott

Styles: Art Deco

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News About This Theater

The Beach Theatre (Credit: Anthony Salveggi)

The Beach Theatre opened on January 15, 1940 with 528 seats. By 1950 it was operated by Florida State Theaters, Inc. Remodeled in the mid-2000’s, this Art Deco movie theatre is close to the pristine beaches of western Florida. In recent years it showed a mix of movies, plus some live performances. The Beach Theatre was closed in November 2012. In August 2021 it was purchased by new owners. In November 2021 renovations and restorations began, with a proposed reopening as a movie theatre and live venue in summer of 2022 with a reduced seating capacity of 160.

It was sold to a new owner on March 1, 2024 with plans to reopen later in 2024.

Contributed by TC

Recent comments (view all 37 comments)

MovieMad52
MovieMad52 on December 31, 2014 at 12:19 am

I am interested…what do you have in mind?

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on May 7, 2016 at 10:42 pm

Circa 1985 photo added courtesy of John Brack.

P. K. "Budd" Ballard
P. K. "Budd" Ballard on November 26, 2016 at 7:13 am

The BEACH THEATRE was not a metal “Quanset” hut construction. I was the projectionist there when it was operated by Bill Eisenhart. This was during the time we ran every Marx Bros. film available. We also ran Laurel and Hardy films and played to a sold out house every Friday and Saturday. The booth had Super Simplex projection heads with RCA sound heads. It had Strong Mogul arc lamps and Kneisley tungar bulb rectifiers. It was a lovely theatre and could be re-opened again. ps: The concession stand had a MANLEY popcorn machine that looked like a juke box.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 3, 2021 at 5:32 am

Paramount subsidiary Florida State Theatres controlled the Beach Theatre under a lease from 1941 until 1950, according to an item in the March 4, 1950 issue of Boxoffice. The Item said that FST had just cancelled the 10-year lease and that operation of the house would be taken over by the building’s owner, Stephen S. Girard.

This article about the Beach Theatre says that the house was only active intermittently during the 1940s, so it seems likely that FST leased the place primarily in order to prevent a competitor from getting control of it.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 3, 2021 at 8:43 am

For Sale as of July 29,2021. Listing below with 15 photos including interior.

https://www.watsonrealtycorp.com/p/315-Corey-Avenue-Saint-Pete-Beach-FL-33706/dmgid_147935896

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on September 6, 2021 at 12:43 pm

Has been purchased and the new owners are contemplating future use. https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2021/09/04/whats-next-for-the-beach-theatre-new-owner-wants-your-input/?fbclid=IwAR3G0yD_U3iqsnfFAAt0pk15GkMUVF3xbwLNa9ZHP1fWIk1yWuQGA7Zjp-M

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on March 1, 2024 at 9:14 am

On March 1, 2024, the Beach Theatre has sold again and will reopen back as a movie house later this year.

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on April 7, 2024 at 11:22 pm

Here’s the latest news

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 8, 2024 at 11:28 am

Trolleyguy’s link above includes the official website and Facebook page for the Beach Theatre, which can be added to this page.

https://www.thebeachtheatre.org/?fbclid=IwAR0k0UHaZ21-wB6AYBXLZD5PoK7h9L5Regs3O8qOC7Sr8e2jnKxp5ZgrMWM_aem_Af0RGGu4iywb7ChhrcvU_5aUW5gamKO3I6Rbju-2F3ZbQ4dSDKUv61BkHkXguAa7_TosomDhx3SMZgHyxF5NoK6F

https://www.facebook.com/spbeachtheatre/

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