TAMPA, Fla. — When Ryan Danger walks through the old Springs Theater — which was once the jewel of Tampa's Sulphur Springs neighborhood — he sees shiny new dreams.
The historic movie palace first opened in 1944. And now, almost 80 years later, it's being renovated to bring multipurpose life back to the community: all parts craft distillery, tasting room, wedding venue, nonprofit space and more.
"You can't walk into this building without feeling the magic here," said owner and renovator Ryan Danger. "And the magic of this building was the magic of this area back in the 40s. So we're not just restoring a building, we're restoring a community."
Danger is a true renaissance man: a distiller of fine spirits, an audio and visual systems wizard, and the sound guy at Skipper's Smokehouse for decades.
He's also the coach of the Tampa Warriors Hockey team, a nonprofit that puts disabled veterans on the ice. The athletes will have a meeting space in the finished Springs Theater as well.
A graduate of Tampa's King High School, Danger loves this city, especially the Sulphur Springs neighborhood.
"This is an amazing community, but it's been neglected for 50, 50, 60 years," he said. "This is a labor of love for me, a passion project."
He's still raising money for all phases of the Springs Theater rebuild. The best-case opening would be later this year, around Christmas.
Part of the theater was most recently a recording studio, but most of the building needs to be reinforced and rebuilt to accommodate crowds.
For more on the Springs Theater renovation, click here.
