Evolving entertainment: From the Bayfront Center to the Mahaffey Theater

The Mahaffey Theater has been part of the downtown St. Petersburg landscape since 1965, although it’s changed considerably in appearance and stature. For 22 years, it was a boxy little part of the city’s ambitious ($5 million in early ’60s money) Bayfront Center complex, attached at the hip to a 7,000-seat arena where families gathered to see Holiday on Ice, the Lipizzaner Stallions and the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus, where sports fans cheered on the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and where the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen and the Grateful Dead attracted massive amounts of screaming fans. All the big “adult” spectacle acts – Elvis, Liberace and Lawrence Welk – performed in the big hall, too, which everyone referred to as simply the Bayfront Center.

The Bayfront Theater, as the Mahaffey was known, was reserved for smaller crowds (the original venue had slightly fewer than 2,000 seats) and more sophisticated entertainment like orchestras, operas and ballets.

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What’s next for Marxent, a St. Petersburg pioneer in virtual reality

Marxent Labs has signed contracts with 11 of the top 25 furniture retailers in the United States, as a growing number of shoppers want to virtually experience a new couch, table or chair in their home before making a purchase.

The company also is expanding into kitchen design, providing cabinet manufacturers a tool for do-it-yourself remodelers to use that’s “like designing from Pinterest,” said Beck Besecker, co-founder and CEO of Marxent.

Marxent has been growing steadily since it was founded in 2011, but it shot into the national spotlight earlier this month after Macy’s (NYSE: M), released a case study on its partnership with Marxent.

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Business Briefs: Raymond James volunteers, Commerce Park expansion and more

- Raymond James Breaks Records: More than 2,500 professionals contributed 7,253 hours to benefit 172 non-profit organizations across the United States and United Kingdom

- Mayor Rick Kriseman and City Administrator and Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin were among those turning the first ceremonial shovels for a Sunday groundbreaking for Euro Cycles of Tampa Bay.

- Welbilt Inc., a commercial food equipment manufacturer in New Port Richey, has named William Johnson as its new president and CEO.

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