Boulevard Theater

Boulevard Theater is a historic entertainment venue at 7770 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida. It opened on Thanksgiving Day, November 21, 1940, as a neighborhood cinema associated with the Paramount Theatres chain. At its launch, the theater was promoted as a notably modern venue for its market, with features that included large-scale air conditioning, acoustical wall treatment, and prominent neon lighting. Its opening program was a matinee presentation of Rhythm on the River, a musical film starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. The venue's identity changed substantially after theater and nightclub proprietor Leroy Griffith purchased it in 1970 for $165,000. Griffith renamed the property the Pussycat and reorganized the building into three entertainment spaces with different formats. The central Pussycat theater, which seated approximately 900 people, screened adult films, including the widely known film Deep Throat. Two additional spaces were given the names Kitty Cat and Tomcat; the former presented female performers and the latter male performers. This multi-room arrangement made the property a hybrid adult-cinema and live-entertainment venue rather than a conventional movie theater. Over subsequent decades, the property operated under several names, including Black Gold, Club Madonna II, Pussycat II, Shadows, and Wonderland. These changes reflected its continuing use as an adult-oriented nightclub and entertainment site, while the original Boulevard Theater name remained important to accounts of the building's history. Community activists made repeated attempts to close the venue during its years as an adult club, but those efforts did not succeed according to the cited historical account. The venue currently operates as Gold Rush Cabaret, an adult entertainment club. Its business is therefore best understood as a location-based entertainment brand and historic commercial property rather than a film-distribution or theater-chain brand. The available reference material does not establish a separate corporate parent, founding individual, current management team beyond the stated ownership, or a broader geographic operating network. The building's history is defined by its transition from mainstream neighborhood cinema to adult film theater, nightclub, and live adult entertainment venue.

Boulevard Theater opened in Miami on Thursday, November 21, 1940, which was Thanksgiving Day that year. It was established as a neighborhood movie theater connected with the Paramount Theatres chain and opened with a matinee screening of Rhythm on the River, featuring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. Contemporary descriptions emphasized the building's modern design and customer amenities, including extensive air conditioning, acoustical walls, and neon illumination. The theater was presented as one of the leading neighborhood cinemas in the southern United States. The property entered a new phase in 1970 when Leroy Griffith, a theater and nightclub proprietor and former Broadway theater producer, acquired it for $165,000. After the purchase, he renamed the venue the Pussycat and divided its operations into three distinct spaces. The main Pussycat auditorium had roughly 900 seats and screened adult films, including Deep Throat. The Kitty Cat space featured female performers, while the Tomcat space featured male performers. This configuration combined adult cinema with live performance and nightclub activity. The building subsequently appeared under a succession of names, including Black Gold, Club Madonna II, Pussycat II, Shadows, and Wonderland. Although the venue's branding changed repeatedly, its underlying role as an adult-oriented entertainment location remained consistent. Community activists attempted to force the closure of the theater during its period as an adult club, but the cited account states that these efforts were unsuccessful. The property is now known as Gold Rush Cabaret and functions as an adult entertainment club. The surviving reference material does not provide a complete ownership history after Griffith's acquisition, detailed architectural records, attendance figures, licensing information, or a chronology for each later name. Accordingly, the documented history is strongest for the theater's 1940 opening, its 1970 conversion under Griffith, its successive adult-entertainment identities, and its present use as Gold Rush Cabaret.

• 1970

  Acquisition and conversion to the Pussycat

  [1]Boulevard Theater (Miami)en.wikipedia.org

  Leroy Griffith purchased the property, renamed it the Pussycat, and organized it into separate adult-film and live-performance spaces.

• 1940

  Boulevard Theater opens

  [1]Boulevard Theater (Miami)en.wikipedia.org

  The theater opened on November 21, 1940, as a Paramount Theatres neighborhood cinema in Miami.

• Adoption of later venue names

  [1]Boulevard Theater (Miami)en.wikipedia.org

  The property later operated under names including Black Gold, Club Madonna II, Pussycat II, Shadows, and Wonderland.

• Operation as Gold Rush Cabaret

  [2]Gold Rush Cabaretgoldrushcabaret.com

  The former cinema currently operates as Gold Rush Cabaret, an adult entertainment club.

A Miami entertainment venue positioned around adult nightlife and live cabaret, with a legacy as a 1940s neighborhood movie theater.

• Movie theater · 1940

  Boulevard Theater

  The original 1940s neighborhood cinema associated with Paramount Theatres. It was designed as a modern local theater, with substantial air conditioning, acoustical treatment, and neon lighting. Its opening presentation was the film Rhythm on the River.

• Adult cinema and entertainment venue · 1970

  Pussycat

  The name adopted after Leroy Griffith purchased the property in 1970. The main auditorium reportedly seated about 900 people and showed adult films, while the wider venue included separate spaces for female and male live performers.

• Adult entertainment club

  Gold Rush Cabaret

  The current operating identity of the former Boulevard Theater property. Gold Rush Cabaret presents the location as an adult entertainment club rather than a conventional cinema or general-purpose neighborhood theater.

• 1970

  Conversion from neighborhood cinema to adult entertainment venueStrategy

  Background

  After acquiring the former Paramount Theatres cinema, Leroy Griffith changed the venue's name and operating model.

  Action taken

  The building was reorganized as the Pussycat, with a large adult-film auditorium and separate spaces for live female and male performers.

  Aftermath

  The property continued for decades as an adult-oriented theater and nightclub under several different names, and it ultimately became Gold Rush Cabaret.

  Purchase price. $165,000 (1970 acquisition)

  Source

1. 1Boulevard Theater (Miami)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Gold Rush Cabaretgoldrushcabaret.com