Ritz Theater, 1936

SC00299.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Ritz Theater, 1936

Alternative Title

Ritz Theater

Subject

Sanford (Fla.)
Buildings--Florida
Theaters--Florida
Motion pictures--United States
Film
Movies

Description

Movie-goers in line at the Ritz Theater in 1936. Originally the Milane Theatre, the Ritz was built at 203 South Magnolia Avenue in Sanford, the former location of the Star Theatre, an abandoned movie house. Scroggs and Ewing, architects from Georgia, prepared the plans for the Milane. The name of the new theater was derived from the combination of the presidents of the Milane Amusement Company president and vice president: Frank L. Miller and Edward F. Lane. The Milane opened in July of 1923 and seated 823 patrons. In 1933, the Milane was sold to Frank and Stella Evans, investors from Lake Mary, Florida. The new owners renamed their business the Ritz Theatre and held the property until the 1990s. However, the Ritz struggled financially in the 1960s and closed in 1978 due to failure to compete with the new multiplex theaters. The building remained vacant until 1984, when it reopened as the Showtime Cantina. The Showtime Cantina closed in 1988 and remained vacant and in decay. In the mid-1990s, Ritz Community Theater Projects, Inc. acquired the property and began rehabilitation in 1998. On May 6, 2000, the theater reopened as the Helen Stairs Theatre in honor of the citizen who led the restoration project, Helen Stairs. The following year, the location was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, additional renovations were completed at the theater was renamed the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in honor of the Wayne Densch Charitable Trust Fund for contributing to the renovations fund.

Source

Newspaper reproduction of original black and white photograph, 1936: Cities/Towns-Sanford Collection, Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.

Date Created

1936

Date Copyrighted

1936

Date Issued

1936

Has Format

Original black and white photograph, 1936.

Is Format Of

Digital reproduction of reprinted black and white photograph, 1936.

Is Part Of

Cities/Towns-Sanford Collection, Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida.
Milane Theatre Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Format

image/jpeg

Extent

120 KB

Medium

1 black and white photograph

Language

eng

Type

Still Image

Coverage

Sanford, Florida

Spatial Coverage

28.810527, -81.266859

Temporal Coverage

1936-01-01/1936-12-31

Accrual Method

Donation

Mediator

History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher

Rights Holder

Copyright to this resource is held by the Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Contributing Project

Curator

Cepero, Laura

Digital Collection

External Reference

"Helen Stairs Theatre." StageClick. http://www.stageclick.com/venue/457.aspx.
"Theater History." Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center. http://www.wdpac.com/footer-menu/theater-history/.
"Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center." Seminole County: Florida's Natural Choice. http://www.visitseminole.com/things-to-do/general/wayne-densch-performing-arts-center.

Transcript

RITZ

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

1 black and white photograp

Citation

“Ritz Theater, 1936,” RICHES, accessed October 8, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/1103.

Locations

Categories