The historic Tampa Theatre cut the ribbon on the new John T. Taylor Screening Room on May 31. Special guests at the ribbon-cutting included Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and John T. Taylor, the philanthropist for whom the micro cinema was named.
Castor said, “The Tampa Theatre is an icon in this city.”
This is the first expansion of the historic movie palace in its 98-year history.
Taylor’s donation gave the organization the momentum it needed to secure the additional funding, primarily from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and the Downtown Tampa CRA Board.
Taylor said, “I have always loved the movies. I grew up going to the Arc Theater in Lafayette, Indiana, eating 10-cent popcorn and watching Roy Rogers and Gene Autry on the big screen.”
Taylor explained, “My first visit to Tampa Theatre was for a tour. I met John Bell (president and CEO of Tampa Theatre), and eventually joined the board of directors in 2012. Everything about this theater is just so fascinating to me, and when I sold our family farm in Indiana a few years ago, one of the first things I did was give them the money to kick-start this whole thing.”
The look of the 1,200-square-foot room (43 seats) draws inspiration from Tampa Theatre’s original architect, John Eberson. Tampa Theatre staff imagined what type of space he might build for his own personal use. The Taylor Screening Room’s design takes colors, textures and details that Eberson used in his 1926 plans for Tampa Theatre and incorporates modern touches that pay tribute both to Eberson’s career as an architect and to his personal family collection of art and photos.
Bell said, “We currently manage to present 700 show times a year in a single space.” Bell added, “Having this second programming space will give us flexibility like we have never had before. We will be able to host more live shows, concerts and community events in the historic hall; show more of the independent, international and art-house films Tampa Theatre is known for; support more of the local film community’s work; and welcome more of our treasured Tampa Theatre guests.”
Tampa Theatre is located at 711 N. Franklin St. in Tampa. For more information on Tampa Theatre and to see a movie, please visit https://tampatheatre.org/ or call 813-274-8981.
