Palma Ceia Theater, 2309 S. MacDill Avenue

Palma Ceia Theater, 1942. Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Digital Collection

Rocke McLean Sbar Attorneys at Law 2020.© Chip Weiner.jpg

The Palma Ceia Theater opened on July 5, 1942, at 2309 S. MacDill Avenue, offering 549 seats and an air-conditioned escape. Its debut featured a double bill: The Dive Bomber, starring Errol Flynn, and Saps at Sea with Laurel and Hardy. The choice of films was fitting—the patriotic tone of The Dive Bomber was poignant with audiences as World War II raged overseas.

The theater also briefly served as a house of worship. In 1946, the fledgling Palma Ceia Baptist Church held its first services there before eventually relocating to its current location at Bay to Bay Boulevard and South Dale Mabry Highway.

Ownership changed hands in 1947 when State Theater, Inc., a company with a portfolio of Florida movie houses, purchased the theater along with another location downtown. They subleased operations to local managers, but by 1956, the business had stalled. State Theater filed a foreclosure suit due to unpaid rent, and the Palma Ceia Theater shut its doors.

In 1957, the building was sold and converted into the Palma Ceia Masonic Lodge, and it remained their headquarters for almost 50 years. But as membership dwindled, the Masons opted to sell. In 2003, a deal was struck to transfer the 5,700-square-foot building for $500,000. Since that time, the building has hosted several businesses, including law firms and realtors. It is now home to the Rocke McLean Sbar law practice.