Tower Theatre's new management has big plans for the cinema house
In October 2022, Miami Dade College officially ended a 20-year partnership with the landmark Tower Theater in Little Havana. The city of Miami will now manage the historic tower.
No one knows what caused the split, but municipal authorities in Miami have big ideas for the 1508 SW 8th Street theater.
Let's take a look at what the future holds for Tower Theatre and the type of role it has played in Miami's creative and cultural fabric:
How Miami plans to transform Tower Theatre
Bayfront Park Management Trust and Miami District 3 creative director Miguel Ferro has said that the city wants to turn the Calle Ocho theater building into more than just an art house cinema showing indie and Oscar-winning films. The building will serve as both a cultural center that celebrates cinema and a landmark for the thousands of tourists who come to Calle Ocho every year.
The theatre should be up and running three to four weeks from now. However, there is a lot of work to do before it can welcome moviegoers. When Miami Dade College's lease expired, they took all the filmmaking equipment from the premises. So, all that sound, filming, and other equipment need to be arranged before the space can be available to locals and tourists alike.
Tower Theatre's impact on Miami's history and culture
The Tower Theatre in Little Havana is deeply rooted in Miami's history. This historic theater on Miami's bustling Calle Ocho initially opened in 1926 as a cutting-edge movie house and is now recognized as a city landmark.
Families in Cuba in the early 1960s were exposed to American culture for the first time through movies at Tower Theater. The theater learned what its patrons wanted and started showing films in both Spanish and English with Spanish subtitles.
When the news of the closing broke last autumn, it naturally triggered an outcry among local fans and filmmakers in Miami. Tower Theater devotees and Miami's filmmaking community are worried about the city's plans for the building, which has formerly housed the Coconut Grove Playhouse and Marine Stadium.
How do you feel about this management switch? Are you excited about the new management's plans?
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