The Franklin Theatre opened in 1924, joining a group of already established theaters, The Strand, Victory, and Tampa Theater, all within blocks of each other.  Thousands of people entered a contest to win $50 if they came up with a suitable name for the theater. The building was designed with the box office in the center and storefronts to the right and left. It was located on Franklin Street. Mayor Perry G. Wall spoke at the dedication with the opening feature film Woman to Woman starring Betty Compson. A boy selling newspapers can be seen at the bottom left of the photo, and a sign advertising O. Falk’s Department Store’s toys and holiday goods can be seen next door. The first businesses in the storefronts were Leiter’s Jewel Box on the left. Julius Leiter started his first jewelry business in 1909 and opened this branch in 1924 in addition to his location at 311 Zack St. behind Maas Brothers. On the right, with the windows still obscured, was soon-to-open Docum, a chain store from Jacksonville selling men’s furnishings.

The 1920s were pivotal years for motion pictures. Technology improved so that “talkies” were more common, people were more mobile as many owned cars or had access to streetcars, and a trip to the movie theater was a popular family outing. In November of 1938, this movie house changed its name to the Florida Theatre and thrived for decades. With the advent of television and declining retail traffic downtown, the theater closed in the mid-1970s and sat vacant for years. 1978, the entire block was demolished, and Tampa Electric Company, now Teco Energy, built their new 9-story headquarters on the land. The sidewalk was replaced, and the street narrowed in an attempt to turn Franklin Street into a pedestrian mall. The black pole in front of the building is a newly-placed 5G antennae, one of a network of new hardware being placed in Tampa to accommodate new technology.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved