Polk Theatre
Lakeland, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
The Polk Theater is located
on the main drag of downtown, Lakeland, FL. It is a four story building.
It is still in operation and used for movies and live performances. It
seats 1400. What is interesting to note about the structure is that it
was the first theater in the country in the 1920s to have air conditioning.
A pump was attached to an artesian well and the water would chill the
building. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
Opened in 1928, the roughly 1,400-seat theater was an early local adopter of air conditioning, using cool water from an artesian well. Its entertainment history includes a 1956 appearance by Elvis Presley during his rapid rise to fame. When changing moviegoing habits threatened the Polk’s future, community preservation efforts in the 1980s helped secure another chapter for the downtown landmark.
UPDATE: The Polk Theatre continues hosting films, concerts, live performances, and community events. Its restored neon sign remains a recognizable feature of downtown Lakeland, welcoming audiences to a theater that still offers something quite different from a suburban multiplex. 08-26
Strand Theatre (Closed)
Key West, FL Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The Strand Theatre sign still gives Duval Street the appearance of a place where another movie might be starting soon. Beneath the illuminated marquee, however, customers now enter a drugstore. The contrast makes this Key West landmark an interesting example of a theater retaining its roadside identity after the screen has gone dark. 01-09
Opened in the early 1920s, the Strand entertained moviegoers for decades before closing as a cinema in the 1980s. Later uses included a nightclub and a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! attraction. Conversion to retail substantially changed the auditorium, although the surviving balcony and elaborate Spanish Baroque-style facade retained connections to the building’s theatrical past.
UPDATE: The former Strand continues operating as a Walgreens. Its historic marquee and vertical neon sign remain part of the Duval Street streetscape, preserving the most visible features of the old movie house even though the business inside serves a different purpose. 08-26
Tropic Cinema
Key West, FL Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The Tropic Cinema brings a little retro movie-house style to Key West. Its neon and marquee suggest an older theater, although the venue is a comparatively recent addition to the island’s entertainment scene. Before heading inside, check out the Marilyn Monroe figure out front, another bit of Hollywood scenery along the sidewalk. 01-09
The Key West Film Society formed in 1999 to establish a home for independent and foreign films, and the cinema opened in 2004. Its programming expanded to include documentaries, classics, discussions, and community events. The deliberately nostalgic exterior gives that modern cultural mission a recognizable introduction, showing that an inviting theater sign needn’t date to the original movie-palace era.
UPDATE: Tropic Cinema continues presenting independent and first-run films alongside special screenings and cultural programs. Its glowing frontage remains a familiar destination for moviegoers, adding a newer chapter to Key West’s theater history. 08-26
Tropic Cinema
