Tampa’s most beloved building turns 100. Tampa Theatre — the 1926 Mediterranean movie palace on Franklin Street, all twinkling ceiling stars and peacock-adorned proscenium — celebrates its centennial on October 15, 2026, launching a “Big Picture: A Century of Stories” season of films, tours and celebrations.
Saved from demolition in the 1970s by the city and its citizens, the theatre has screened everything from silent films with its Mighty Wurlitzer organ to today’s classics series, concerts and the famous ghost tours — all under architect John Eberson’s “atmospheric” sky, where clouds drift and stars have twinkled for a century of first dates.
Centennial programming runs through the season — the perfect excuse to finally take the balcony tour.
A hundred years, one glowing marquee. Happy birthday, Tampa Theatre: you’re the city’s favorite star.
