Beach Theatre to sell 800 vintage posters as fundraiser

Film buffs and collectors take note: More than 800 movie posters, rolled and in perfect (and near-perfect) condition, have been discovered inside the Beach Theatre, the 82-year-old movie house on St. Pete Beach.

The posters are for films from the late 1980s up until 2012, when the Beach Theatre closed. It has stood vacant since then.

The original one-sheet display posters are being sold to benefit the theater’s ongoing restoration project. Christopher Scott, who bought the building last year, is raising funds through his nonprofit, The Beach Theatre Community Foundation, Inc.

The Beach is being restored as a multi-use entertainment venue, for concerts, comedy, plays … and movies.

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“The posters range from festival and Academy Award winners to lighter comedies and children’s films,” explained Director of Operations Joey Hager, “though I’d venture to say more than half are either from Sundance or internationally produced.”

Nearly 1,000 posters were initially discovered. “We threw away hundreds that were badly torn or suffering from water damage,” Hagar added, “but did keep many with minor tears or wrinkled edges, with the thinking that it could be someone’s favorite movie, and a minor blemish wouldn’t get in the way of displaying the film.”

The list of available posters will be posted on the Beach Theatre website Thursday at 10 a.m. Donation is $20 per poster, or $50 for three, and orders will be available for pickup at the theater during the April 10 Corey Avenue Market.

“We don’t know why so many posters were saved over so many decades,” Hager said, “but it’s given us an unprecedented opportunity to share with the public the chance to have a piece of this theater’s extensive history.”