Florida Twin Theatre

The Florida Twin Theatre is a historic, family-operated movie theater in Starke, Florida, United States. It first opened on October 4, 1941 as the Florida Theatre, a single-screen cinema that featured then-modern innovations such as air conditioning and a slanted auditorium floor for better sightlines. The opening-day program included "Ringside Maisie" starring Ann Sothern and a midnight opening of "A Yank in the R.A.F." starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable; adult admission was 40 cents, children's admission was 10 cents, and popcorn cost a nickel. In 1962 Robert and Barbara Barksdale purchased the theater, and in 1972 they remodeled it, enclosing the area between the box office and the lobby and relocating the concession stand beneath the stairway. In 1984 Lee and Vicki Sparks bought the Florida Theatre from the Barksdales and undertook a major renovation. The concession stand was rebuilt more than twice its former size and returned close to its original position across the lobby; the mono sound system was replaced with a Dolby Digital Surround system; a new projection booth was added in the auditorium; and both the upstairs and downstairs projection booths received platter-based film delivery systems. The single auditorium was converted into a duplex, and the venue was renamed the Florida Twin Theatre. The theater has been the subject of local newspaper coverage, including an article in the Gainesville Sun published in January 1999, and later that year it added a dot-com web address to give the public online access to showtimes and theater information. Today the Florida Twin Theatre continues to operate as a two-screen, cash-only cinema in Starke, showing first-run films with separate showtimes for each screen. As of the official website, admissions are $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for children, $6.00 for seniors, and $6.00 for matinees; the theater states that it does not accept credit or debit cards in order to keep costs low for local families. It remains a small, independently owned community cinema rather than part of a national chain.

The Florida Twin Theatre began as the Florida Theatre, which opened to the public at 1:00pm on October 4, 1941. The opening-day features were "Ringside Maisie" starring Ann Sothern and a midnight opening of "A Yank in the R.A.F." starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable. Admission was 40 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, and popcorn cost a nickel. The theater featured air conditioning and a slanted auditorium floor for better viewing, both considered innovations at the time. In 1962 Robert and Barbara Barksdale purchased the theater. For the next decade it operated largely as it always had. In 1972 the Barksdales remodeled the theater, enclosing the area between the box office and the lobby and moving the concession stand underneath the stairway. In 1984 Lee and Vicki Sparks purchased the Florida Theatre from the Barksdales and carried out a major renovation. Almost everything was remodeled. The new concession stand, more than twice as large as the old one, returned almost to its original position across the lobby. The mono sound system was replaced by a state-of-the-art Dolby Digital Surround system. A new projection booth was added in the auditorium, and both the upstairs and downstairs projection booths received platter-based film delivery systems. The single theater became a duplex and was renamed the Florida Twin Theatre. In more recent years the Florida Twin Theatre was featured in local area newspaper articles, including one from the Gainesville Sun published in January 1999. Later in 1999 the theater added a dot-com to its name to allow the public to access theater information online. The theater continues to operate as a two-screen cinema in Starke, Florida, showing films with separate showtimes for each screen and maintaining a cash-only admissions policy.

• 1999

  The theater is featured in a Gainesville Sun article in January; later in 1999 it adds a dot-com web address.

• 1984

  Lee and Vicki Sparks purchase the Florida Theatre and renovate it into a duplex renamed the Florida Twin Theatre.

• 1972

  The Barksdales remodel the theater, enclosing the box office/lobby area and moving the concession stand under the stairway.

• 1962

  Robert and Barbara Barksdale purchase the theater.

• 1941

  Florida Theatre opens at 1:00pm on October 4 with "Ringside Maisie" and a midnight opening of "A Yank in the R.A.F."

A small, independently owned, family-oriented community cinema offering low-cost, cash-only moviegoing in Starke, Florida.

• First-run movie screenings on two screens

• Concessions including popcorn

1. 1Florida Twin Theatre official websitefloridatwintheatre.com
2. 2Our History | Florida Twin Theatrefloridatwintheatre.com
3. 3Florida Twin Theatre - Wikidatawikidata.org