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Tampa Theatre restoration enters final stretch
“This is the building the city rescued 50 years ago and now we are able to fully restore it to give it back.”
Five months before Tampa Theatre celebrates its 100th birthday, the historic movie palace looks more like a construction zone than one of Florida’s most treasured landmarks.
The auditorium at 711 N. Franklin Street in Tampa is now a towering maze of scaffolding stretching nearly to the ceiling as crews work through a $21 million restoration project aimed at returning the building to its former glory while preparing it for a second century of use.
“This is the building the city rescued 50 years ago and now we are able to fully restore it to give it back,” said Jill Witecki, Tampa Theatre’s vice president and director of marketing and community relations. “This phase of work you are looking at is $21 million.”
The project is part of Tampa Theatre’s larger Second Century campaign, a long-term effort to modernize and preserve the nearly century-old landmark ahead of its Oct. 15, 2026 centennial.
Walking through the Duncan Auditorium today requires navigating around construction equipment and weaving beneath layers of scaffolding. High above the seating area, artisans are restoring decorative plaster details that have weathered decades of wear. In some areas, the workspaces are so tight they resemble crawlspaces more than construction zones.
Elsewhere, workers climb a labyrinth of temporary stairways leading toward the ceiling, where one of the theater’s most beloved features is getting a significant upgrade.
The atmospheric ceiling, designed to mimic an outdoor Mediterranean courtyard beneath a night sky, is receiving new fiber-optic twinkle lights. The upgrade will replace aging bulbs that have dimmed over the years. Others disappeared entirely after being damaged or shot out over the building’s long history.
The goal is to restore the illusion that has captivated generations of moviegoers since the theater first opened in 1926.
The work has not been without surprises.
As crews installed a new elevator that will improve accessibility and connect future education spaces, they encountered an obstacle hidden beneath the building: an old sewer line.
“Forgive the smell,” Witecki joked during a recent tour.
The discovery temporarily complicated construction, but the aging plumbing has since been modernized as part of the broader renovation effort.
Much of the project’s focus extends beyond what audiences will immediately notice.
The Florida Avenue side of the building is being transformed into new education and archive spaces that will support Tampa Theatre’s expanding mission beyond film exhibition. Facility leaders have previously announced plans for educational programming, preservation efforts and partnerships with institutions including the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida.
New restrooms, accessibility improvements and infrastructure upgrades are also part of the overhaul.
Still, not every oddity inside the nearly century-old building is disappearing.
For longtime patrons concerned the restoration might erase some of Tampa Theatre’s quirks, Witecki offered a bit of reassurance: the famously tiny women’s restrooms on the first and second floors are staying put.
The project remains on a firm timeline. When the Catalyst toured the theater earlier this year, officials said construction would need to be completed before the October centennial celebrations. Despite the inevitable challenges that come with renovating a 100-year-old building, theater leaders remain focused on reopening in time for that milestone.
For now, visitors won’t find a finished facility. They will find workers restoring plasterwork, installing lights and solving problems hidden inside walls and beneath floors.
What they are witnessing is a rare moment in Tampa Theatre’s history: the careful restoration of a landmark that nearly faced demolition half a century ago and is now being prepared for the next 100 years.
Tampa Theatre. Photo: Visit Tampa Bay.
