TAMPA, Fla. — Jill Witecki remembers the first time she saw a movie at the Tampa Theatre.
She was a high schooler on a field trip with mother. While she doesn’t remember much about the risqué French film she was there to see, she distinctly remembers being mesmerized by the theater itself.
“I was looking at this beautiful room — this amazing theater — and falling in love,” she remembered.
From that moment on, Tampa Theatre became an inseparable part of her life. She volunteered at the theater. She and her now-husband went to see a show at the theater on their second date. Then, about 10 years ago, she became the theater’s marketing director.
Now, it’s her job to help others fall in love with the theater, which was named by the Motion Picture Association in 2013 as one of the top movie theaters in the world.
“I can guarantee anybody who walks into this building: there’s always a reaction. Nobody walks into Tampa Theatre and kind of shrugs,” she said. “It’s always the dropped jaw looking up into this ceiling and falling in love.”
The theater is as historic as it is unique. It was designed by architect John Eberson and built by Paramount Pictures for the burgeoning film industry of the 1920s. The Tampa Theatre opened on Oct. 15, 1926. It has hosted thousands of screenings and shows since.
The theater is known as an “Eberson atmospheric” since it features a realistic night sky with twinkling stars above the auditorium. Ornate sculptures and plasterwork decorate the walls and ceilings.
For Witecki and others, the theater heightens the joy of seeing a movie.
“There’s no finer experience,” she said. “In fact, that’s why our architect built theaters like this, because he wanted that experience to come off the screen and envelope you.”
While the theater continues to screen movies and host live performances and other events to this day, it was slated for demolition in 1973.
As the consumption of movies changed in the post-war period and Americans moved to the suburbs, theaters like Tampa Theatre were demolished and the land beneath them was sold for other purposes.
The community, however, rallied to save Tampa Theatre, and Tampa City Council voted by a narrow margin to purchase and preserve the historic building.
“Tampa Theatre was very lucky that we survived,” Witecki said.
Now, 50 years later, the theater is yet again fighting to survive.
This time, it isn’t consumption habits but age that the theater is fighting.
While the theater’s auditorium still sparkles in ornate beauty, areas just behind the scenes are falling apart.
“The basements that we have in this building, the dressing room, the support spaces, and the infamous third floor,” Witecki shared.
On the third floor, old brick walls are stabilized by steel pins. Ceilings are dotted with gaping holes. Water trickles down the walls during heavy rain storms. Entire rooms — precious space the theater would like to use for public purposes — are used for storage because the upper floor is only accessible by a narrow, winding staircase.
“It houses our collection of termite wings right now, actually. It’s a disgusting space,” Witecki said.
But, it’s not just the third floor. Other areas are also showing the wear and tear of a near-century of aging. The technology used to project films is woefully outdated — an analog system in a digital world. The lights which illuminate the theater’s iconic outdoor sign started misfiring just days ago. Sunday, even the theater’s popcorn machine threw a rod.
“Every time something breaks, we have to have parts machined because the systems are that old,” said Witecki.
In light of the problems and the theater’s age, Tampa Theatre is setting out on a massive fundraising effort.
The theater hopes to raise $42 million in the coming months to allow for a full restoration of the theater before its centennial celebration in 2026.
The theater is hoping that most of the $42 million will come from private sources, but it's also asking for public investment from the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, and the State of Florida.
Witecki admits the number seems astronomical, but she said the funding will be used to preserve the theater for at least another hundred years.
Roughly half would be used to modernize the theater’s technology, better utilize areas like the third floor for purposes like summer camps and education, and restore the theater to its original glory. The other half of the funding would be used to launch an endowment to help maintain the theater once it is restored.
“My girls — they’re four and seven — have been coming here since they were babies. They won’t even remember their first trip to Tampa Theatre,” she said. “But there’s something about knowing that, someday, they’re going to be bringing their kids here or maybe even their grandkids here.”
The Tampa Theatre’s ambitious goal is seeming more and more achievable after a weekend of successful fundraising and a recent commitment by the City of Tampa.
Last Thursday, in a unanimous vote, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency approved $14 million in funding toward the theater’s restoration.
“My goal would be to not have you all barely scraping by,” Councilman Bill Carlson said before the vote. “This building — this facility — should never be in danger again.”
Witecki now believes the theater has momentum as it raises the remaining funds.
Even though the theater will be looking for generous corporate and private donors to help, Witecki said the average person can help by simply buying a ticket to a movie or performance.
“If you’re tired of watching movies on your couch, if you’re tired of watching movies on your phone, come rediscover why going to the movies is a communal experience,” she said.
For Witecki, buying a ticket to see a movie at Tampa Theatre comes with multiple perks. There’s a chance you’ll see a good movie, and there’s an even better chance you’ll fall in love with a piece of Tampa history at the same time.
