Florida Theatre
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| Address | 128 East Forsyth Street Jacksonville, Florida United States |
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| Capacity | 1,900 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | April 8, 1927 |
| Reopened | 1983 |
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Florida Theatre
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| Location | 128-134 E. Forsyth St., Jacksonville, Florida |
| Coordinates | 30°19′35″N 81°39′20″W / 30.32628°N 81.65563°WCoordinates: 30°19′35″N 81°39′20″W / 30.32628°N 81.65563°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Architect | R. E. Hall & Co.; Roy A. Benjamin |
| Architectural style | Mediterranean Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 82001034 |
| Added to NRHP | November 4, 1982 |
The Florida Theatre is an historic American movie theater located at 128 East Forsyth Street in Jacksonville, Florida. The theatre is one of only four remaining high-style movie palaces built in Florida during the Mediterranean Revival architectural boom of the 1920s (the other three being the Saenger Theatre in Pensacola, the Polk Theatre in Lakeland and the Tampa Theatre in Tampa). Opened on April 8, 1927, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 4, 1982. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.
The Florida Theatre began construction in summer of 1926 by Southern Enterprises, Inc. with R. E. Hall & Co. and Roy A. Benjamin as the architects. The theatre was established as a seven-story concrete fireproof building with a roof garden and with an emphasis on showing movies and live performances. R. E. Hall and Roy A. Benjamin designed the Florida Theatre in the Mediterranean Revival architecture style. The site of the Florida Theatre was previously occupied by a police station and jail but was demolished. Construction of the theatre took only one year and was opened to the public on April 8, 1927. At the time of the opening the Florida Theatre was the largest theatre in Florida. The opening night had several programs featuring fanfare of the American Legion Bugle Corps, a live stage show, and the film Let It Rain. The Florida Theatre was open from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM showing a variety of films, news reels, or a stage presentation. In 1938 the roof garden was closed and replaced with offices to be rented out.
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