Victory Theater, 700 Tampa Street.
Victory Theatre on northwest corner of Tampa and Zack Streets, 1925. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Touted as “absolutely fireproof” by the engineers who built it, the Victory Theatre opened in downtown Tampa in 1920 as a 1600-seat live playhouse. Going to the theater was a special event in that era as it offered a wide range of entertainment, from live vaudeville acts to movies. Before “talkies” (movies with sound), large pipe organs filled the room with music to accompany silent films. Theater ownership changed hands several times during the first 20 years. In 1947, after renovation, the name changed to the New Palace Theater. In 1962, following another renovation, including installing 3-35mm projectors, the theater offered Cinerama, a precursor to today’s IMAX experience. It featured a curved screen and was 75 feet wide and 32 feet high.
In the early 1970s, the theater closed, and in 1979 was demolished to create a parking lot. 2005 brought the construction of SkyPoint Tampa, a 33-floor, 361-foot high condominium. A seven-level parking garage for SkyPoint residents now sits where the Victory once stood.
SkyPoint Condominiums parking lot and Tampa Pizza Company, northwest corner of Tampa and Zack Streets. 2020. © Chip Weiner
From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 1
Nighttime crowd at entrance to Victory Theatre at 700 Tampa Street. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Rotary Conference parade gathered outside the Victory Theatre. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Victory Theatre. 1947. Hampton Dunn Collection. Courtesy of the USF Digital Collection
Victory Theatre interior. Unknown, "Victory Theatre" (1940). Florida Photograph Collection.. 1947. . Courtesy of the USF Digital Collection