The Springs Theater-a 300 seat facility-opened in 1938 (or 1944-there are conflicting records) featuring the movies The Rains Came, and It Happened Tomorrow.

This theater may be the third iteration of a building on the spot. A 1913 Tampa Times article refers to a theater here, and a 1912 article from the same publication advertises wrestling matches at the Springs Theater. In the 1960s, movie theater attendance dropped significantly due to the popularization of television. The building, then owned by the Florida State Theater chain, closed around 1963 and was sold to Tampa businessman John Terzino. In 1966, a devastating fire gutted the building. Terzino reopened it as Terzino’s Mountaineer Auction House. In 1971, he planned to open a G-rated-only film house. By 1982, Tampa City Council sought to revoke the theater’s license after angry Sulfur Springs residents complained that the then X-rated theater and adult toy store attracted the wrong crowd to the neighborhood. Tampa police raided the theater in 1984, confiscating more than 30 small projectors along with dozens of allegedly sexually explicit films. By that time, the building had been lined with 4 x 6’ booths for private viewing, typically known as “peep shows.”

By 2007 the building had become a modern recording studio. According to Creative Loafing newspaper, the Springs Theater Recording Studio was used for audio and video recording production mastering and editing including work in scoring for Bobby McFerrin. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Jennifer Lopez rehearsed there prior to her performance in the 2009 Super Bowl performance in Tampa.

As of June 9, 2020, Danger Distillery LLC is registered at the theater’s address. 

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved