Olympia Theater, Historic theater in downtown Miami, United States
The Olympia Theater is a cinema and performance hall in downtown Miami with ornate Mediterranean Revival interiors. Hand-painted ceilings, elaborate chandeliers, and decorative wall details fill the grand spaces, creating an opulent setting for audiences.
Paramount Enterprises commissioned the theater in 1924, and John Eberson designed it on the site of the former Airdome open-air cinema. It opened on February 18, 1926, as a silent movie house. By 1929 it hosted vaudeville and talking pictures; Elvis Presley played 15 sold-out shows in August 1956. Maurice Gusman bought it in 1970, Morris Lapidus renovated the auditorium, and it was listed on the National Register in 1984.
The name Olympia was chosen by Mrs. A.E. Rickmers, wife of the landowner, to match the theater's Mediterranean design. Its atmospheric interior, designed by John Eberson, replicates a Spanish garden. Elvis Presley performed seven shows over two days in August 1956, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The entrance on Flagler Street is marked by the restored marquee and a freestanding octagonal ticket booth standing under the canopy, so the doorway is easy to find from the sidewalk. The auditorium seats 1,500 after the 2009 renovation. The City of Miami took back management of the building in 2020, so check the current programme before travelling.
The Olympia is one of only four atmospheric theatres left in Florida, alongside the Florida, Polk and Tampa theatres. John Eberson designed it to resemble a Spanish garden, and the auditorium ceiling carries the night-sky effect. The building joined the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 1984.
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