Martin Theater signed, limited edition print, 19 1/4" x 24 3/4".
This limited edition lithograph is of the art deco movie theater in the heart of downtown Panama City,Florida.
The original watercolor painting was created by Paul Brent to commemorate the renovation of the theater into a performing arts theater. Paul Brent helped in the renovation by designing the interior of the theater to recall the colors and designs from the facade and marquee of the theater.
The Ritz Theatre was remodeled in 1952 and renamed the Martin Theater. The original marquee was dismantled and a new marquee in the moderne, streamlined, style was installed. This marquee was constructed by Freeman Electric which is still in business today. The vertical member of the marquee was never replaced and the letters
M-A-R-T-I-N were added to the upper row of six windows. The new marquee continued to display an array of neon and, when the marquee was new, a clock was located in the center circle of the marquee. After only a short time the clock began to fail and it was replaced by the now familiar MT logo in the center circle still displaying the twelve dots of the original clock. Betty Boop, the Three Pigs and Mickey Mouse came down in the foyer. A gathered burlap material, used for its’ acoustical properties, covered over the original walls of the auditorium and cutouts of tropical palms reminiscent of Miami Beach ’50s style were installed as decorative elements over the burlap.
By the mid seventies the Martin Theater was no longer the shining monument to modernity in entertainment. The glass tile at the street level was broken with some tiles missing; the bathrooms were no longer immaculate. The Martin was finally closed in 1976 and after a period of disuse was gutted and turned into a shooting gallery. In 1982, Don McCoy, Larry Lee, Dr. Char Voorhis and Bob Hughes purchased the Martin Theater to prevent its demolition and held it until grant money was found by the Downtown Improvement Board to renovate the theater into a performing arts theater. Mack Lewis, Chairman of the DIB, spearheaded the effort to renovate the Martin Theater.
In 1989, the Martin Theater was reopened as a performing arts theater with an expanded stage and wing space. The old balcony was removed and the seating raked at an angle so that the upper row met the original doors for the balcony seating. New lighting and sound systems were installed and the total cost of remodeling was $1.9 million. The architect for the redesign was John Bozarth. Paul Brent designed the interiors to match the design concepts and colors of the exterior. The theater now seats 450 and hosts live productions of drama, music and dance along with community events. In 1994, the old Schneider’s building next to the Martin Theater on the corner of 4th and Harrison was purchased by the DIB. It was razed and the Martin Theater’s Green Room was added to expand the meeting capability and wing space of the theater. Bayne Collins was the architect for the new building and Charles Wilson painted an Art Deco theatrical mural on the north wall to tie the new room into the themes of the original theater.
Much of the above information came from an article in the St. Andrews Bay News, Saturday November 21, 1936, “Martin& Davis Opens Ultra-Modern Theatre Here Monday”. This and other articles about the Ritz/Martin Theater can be found in the Bay County Library’s Local History Room.
|
contact us
