Polk Theatre, Movie theater in Lakeland, United States
The Polk Theatre is a 1,400-seat movie house and theatre at 121 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida, built in 1928 in the Renaissance Revival style. Its auditorium has a mezzanine, a high balcony, an orchestra pit and a permanent backdrop painted as a Venetian piazza. The ceiling serves as a screen for projected images of twinkling stars, and the foyer floor is terrazzo.
The Polk Theatre opened in 1928, built after Lakeland's business boom had ended, when the city had only about 15,000 residents. Its air-conditioning, the first in the county, was a pump that used artesian well water to chill the building. By 1982 low attendance threatened demolition; local citizens formed a non-profit group, borrowed money, secured a state grant and bought the theatre for $300,000. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 as the Polk Theatre and Office Building.
The theatre's name honours the Polk family, whose name also labels the county; it opened in 1928 as a 1,400-seat house in a town of about 15,000. A permanent painted backdrop of a Venetian piazza frames the stage, and the ceiling is used to project images of twinkling stars.
The Polk Theatre stands at 121 South Florida Avenue in downtown Lakeland. Inside, a mezzanine and a high balcony mean stairs and several levels, so visitors with limited mobility should plan accordingly. The orchestra pit sits below the stage front.
The ceiling is not painted: images of twinkling stars are projected onto it, above a permanent backdrop of a Venetian piazza. The 1,400-seat auditorium also keeps its orchestra pit, mezzanine and high balcony, and the lobby floor is terrazzo.
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