|
|
February 2026 Focus: Theatre Streetcar with billboard advertising Dr. M. Sayle Taylor's "Married Love" at Stand Theater: Tampa, Fla. PA 2475 |
|
|
|
FEATURED BOOKS FROM THE FLORIDA COLLECTION: |
|
by Nilo Cruz A poignant and poetic play set in Florida in 1929, inside a Cuban-American cigar factory, where cigars are still rolled by hand and "lectors" are employed to educate and entertain the workers. Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When the handsome new lector arrives at a family-run cigar factory with a copy of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, not everyone is delighted. Pride and passions are already running high as the factory is threatened by the race to industrialize and join the American Dream. In the heat of the crowded factory floor, Tolstoy's words inflame desires, inspire jealousies and force the family to look to its future. |
|
|
|
|
by Dwight Currie An eighteenth-century treasure in a twenty-first-century venue, the Historic Asolo Theater was created in Asolo, Italy, and 1798. The theater was removed from its original site in the early 1930s and in the late 1940s brought to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. From this important stage sprang much of the theater, opera, and music that distinguish this Gulf Coast city as one of the nation's leading cultural centers. Today the theater features a diverse performance schedule including theater, dance, film, music, and lectures. Its unique architecture and exquisite detail are celebrated here in the latest installment of the Scala Art Spaces series. |
|
Jacksonville's theatre and performance history is rich with flair and drama. The theatres, drive-ins and movie houses that brought entertainment to its citizens have their own exciting stories. Some have passed into memory. The Dixie Theatre, originally part of Dixieland Park, began to fade in 1909. The Palace Theatre, home to vaudeville acts, was torn down in the '50s. The Alhambra has been everyone's favorite dinner theatre since 1967's debut of Come Blow Your Horn. Local author Dorothy K. Fletcher revives the history of Jacksonville's theatres. Lights, camera, action! |
|
|
|
|
Time brings change, and one example of that is a community gathering place like the Tampa Theatre. The way that the Tampa Theatre has grown is shown by the social, cultural, and architectural changes. This guide provides readers with the entail that is provided by going on the Tampa Theatre tour. You will get to learn some small details that have been part of the Tampa Theatre structure as well as see commentary by patrons. Readers will also get to enjoy reading about the Tampa Theatre Stories Project, that discusses experiences of staff and patrons. |
|
|
|
by David D. Morton Highlighting Florida's essential, often overlooked role in shaping American film and television, Motion Picture Paradise is a sweeping story of filmmaking in Florida, featuring the activities of studios and filmmakers across the peninsula by looking at the many iconic films and television shows shot in the state. In the early years of the American film industry, Florida was a favorite location for pioneer movie makers, and David Morton chronicles the state's importance to producers throughout the next 125 years. Often overshadowed by the well-known entertainment industries of Hollywood and New York, Florida has over time had several major film production centers. Morton follows the rise and fall of filmmaking destinations across the state, including Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Miami, as well as pioneering underwater and location-based films shot at Florida's unique natural springs. He argues that conflicting policies set by Florida politicians have, at various times, enticed or pushed away movie and television companies, a pattern that has hampered serious investment. Using a wealth of source materials, Morton offers a comprehensive history that demonstrates how films and television shows made in Florida have influenced the state's sense of identity, drawing attention to Florida's underacknowledged role as the "third coast" in American film history. Motion Picture Paradise adds new insights into the state's dramatic social and economic transformations during the twentieth century. |
|
by Brad Wallace In the Sarasota summer heat of 1960, Florida State University students began an acting company that is now known as the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Performances were held in the Historic Asolo Theater, relocated from its home in Italy in 1950. Over the past fifty years, the Asolo Repertory Theatre has become a renowned fixture in the Sarasota community, thriving thanks to a remarkable collaboration between FSU, the State of Florida, the Ringling Museum and the Asolo's regional supporters. Follow retired Asolo actor and director Brad Wallace as he relives the magnificent history of this beloved institution. |
|
|
|
|
Tampa Theater Ghosts: Behind the Screen: a Haunted Backstage Tourby Gina Watson Are ghosts real? How can we prove or disprove it? A Florida film production team sets out to try to answer these questions during a film shoot at the historic Tampa Theatre. In the excitement of the roaring 20s, a new kind of movie palace was constructed by the Bay. More than 90 years later, Tampa Theatre has become known as one of the most haunted buildings in the city, filled with the spirits of former employees, patrons and guests. Read, Tampa Theatre Ghosts, Behind the Screen to explore the unique and historic Tampa Theatre like never before, and discover the entities whom ghost hunters believe "choose to remain at the Tampa Theatre," in the ultimate haunted backstage tour. Filmed over the past year, the Ghosts Behind the Screen documentary features Tampa Theatre staff, paranormal investigators, Theatre patrons, Tampa historians and dramatic recreations telling the stories that give the historic movie palace its ghostly reputation. And the cameras were rolling when spectral projectionist Fink Finley decided to make his presence known to a group in the projection booth! This book is the official companion book to the movie, revealing stories and details that were not included in the film. This book serves as both as an oral history of this fantastic place, as well as a scientific investigation into the paranormal activity that haunts the movie palace.
|
|
The Tampa Theatre is a community landmark for cinema that was built in 1926. But in the 60s and early 70s they found a similar fate where customers were not coming in as much with people moving to the suburbs, but the public of Tampa got a deal made with the City of Tampa to not demolish the Tampa Theatre. Now the Tampa Theatre is managed by a nonprofit, Tampa Theatre Inc. The Tampa Theatre is still a highly utilized venue for showing films, concerts, events, tours, and holding educational programs. In 1978 the Tampa Theatre was named the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres, Art House Convergence, and the Film Florida. Tampa Theatre holds the mission of strengthening community bonds through entertainment in the historic landmark, that it does by still maintaining the realistic night sky on the ceiling, a courtyard with old-world statues, floral arrangements, and gargoyles. |
|
|
LIBRARY AND TAMPA BAY AREA EVENTS: |
|
|
|
February 4, 2026 Robert W. Saunders Public Library Explore the historical and genealogical materials related to our local African American communities. Learn about online library resources that complement these collections. Recommended for adults. Registration recommended. |
|
|
|
Burgert Brothers Photographic CollectionFebruary 7, 2026
John F. Germany Public Library
Learn about and explore this extraordinary photo archive! There are 20,000 images in the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection, which chronicles the history of the Tampa Bay area and
showcase the commercial, residential and social growth of Tampa Bay and Florida's West coast from the late 1800s to the early 1960s. This program will show you how to access and explore the history and ongoing preservation of this collection.
|
|
|
|
C Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library Explore the historical and genealogical materials related to our local African American communities. Learn about online library resources that complement these collections.
Recommended for adults. Registration recommended.
|
|
|
|
February 26, 2026 John F. Germany Public Library Let's all work together on our writing projects! This program will use photos from the Burgert Brother Photographic collection as prompts for flash fiction writing. Participate and enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the library as you work to finish your writing project. Recommended for adults. |
|
by Chanel Cleeton After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution... Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba's high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country's growing political unrest--until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary... Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa's last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba's tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she'll need the lessons of her grandmother's past to help her understand the true meaning of courage--and what it means to be Cuban. |
|
|
|
|
novel of turn-of-the-century white "Florida Crackers" marks a daring departure for Zora Neale Hurston, the author famous for her complex accounts of Black culture and heritage. Full of insights into the nature of love, attraction, faith, and loyalty, Seraph on the Suwanee is the compelling story of two people at once deeply in love and deeply at odds. With the same passion and understanding that have made Their Eyes Were Watching God a classic, Zora Neale Hurston explores the evolution of a marriage full of love but very little communication and the desires of a young woman in search of herself and her place in the world. |
|
Gathered from the author's 20-year romance with America's southernmost city, here is a collection of 60 essays and 65 photographs that show Key West's brimming treasure chest of fascinating lore. Since arriving in Key West in 1975, the author has worked as a go-go dancer, a newspaper reporter, a tour guide, an assistant to America's first gay mayor, a fine-art saleswoman, a bartender, and a waitress. She witnessed this beloved island, the place Ernest Hemingway called "the poor man's Saint Tropez", grow into one of the world's most dazzling tourist destinations. The essays in this book are both hilarious and poignant parables that delve into the history of a place where the sun shines every day. |
|
|
|
ON DISPLAY IN THE FLORIDA HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARY, 4TH FLOOR OF THE JOHN F. GERMANY PUBLIC LIBRARY
|
|
 Hillsborough State Bank |
Florida Banking Records Collection The Florida Banking Records give insight and context to the history of Florida's economy. They date from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The records come from several banks of historical significance and include Hillsboro State Bank, Bank of Dunedin, First Savings and Trust Co., and SunBank. The records were stored for several years in a warehouse and were scheduled to be destroyed. In 2014, a SunTrust bank employee asked the Florida History & Genealogy Library if they would accept the donation. In 2021 the library started an in-house preservation project. This includes cleaning, repairing, and cataloging the records.
|
|
|
Gasparilla Through the Years: From the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection The video display features photographs of Gasparilla kings and queens, pirates, and parades, from its beginning in 1904 to the mid-1960s. |
|
|
|
|
