A historic monument nestled on Corey Ave in St. Pete Beach will reopen its doors to the public on July 18. The grand reopening of The Beach Theatre comes after years of the theatre’s ping-pong game between different owners, legal battles, and hurricane damage.
Hannah Hockman and her parents Ron and Sissy, who are live theater enthusiasts, closed on The Beach Theatre in 2024, fulfilling Hannah’s lifelong dream.
Journey to Ownership
Hockman first expressed interest in the building back in 2017, as a student enrolled at Eckerd College, a private college in St. Petersburg. She heard about the theater during a school trip to the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum on Pass-a-Grille Beach.
Hockman asked how she could get involved, curious if she could assist in reopening the theater, or contribute to renovations.
A Closer Look at the Theatre’s Past
The Beach Theatre was built in the late 1930s and opened to the public in January 1940.
The iconic theater’s doors shut in 2012, following a myriad of issues weighing down the previous owner, Michael France. France purchased the theater in 1997. He passed away in 2013, leaving the theater in legal limbo with his family members.
When 2021 rolled around, legal entanglements softened, allowing the theater a one-day stint on the market. Christopher Scott took the bait, outbidding Hockman and her family. Hockman pushed her dreams of owning the theater to the back burner while working on theater productions locally and in New York.
While she was working on a show, Hockman received a call from Scott. He was going to put the building back on the market, though he wanted to check in with Hockman first. He asked if she still wanted to purchase the theater.
She was still interested. Scott and Hockman communicated back and forth for a few months before finalizing a contract on November, 23, 20234, the same day as Hockman’s 25th birthday.
“It all felt like a sign,” she said. The family closed on the deal on February 21, 2024, exactly 90 days after that fated contract.
Eager to bring the community back into a cordial, communal space, the Hockmans went to work. A typical day included inspecting the space, researching permits, acquiring and deciphering permits, and sifting through materials needed to spruce up the place — figuring out what they needed to do to transform the space into a functional, multi-use area.
Then, the hurricanes hit.
Rebuilding the Theatre
Hurricane Debby struck the day the Hockmans hoped to start renovations in August 2024. After Debby, Hurricanes Helene, then Milton crashed into St. Pete Beach, leaving six feet of water flowing through The Beach Theatre.
The water damage only pushed the Hockmans forward. Once the water dried, the team continued working, Hockman said. They had to bring a dream to fruition, after all. The fact that they already had permits helped, too.
The Hockmans wanted to honor the history of the building, working with its architecture and with the constraints of being a historically-designated building.
“There wasn’t really anything in here we wanted to save, but we wanted to still use the decade it was built in as kind of a touchstone for the design,” Hockman said.
The team continued inspecting the theater, deciding which vision to bring to life. Hockman was adamant about one idea: The new design must relay how much each previous owner cared about the theater.
“It’s truly a miracle” Hockman said. “(It’s) incredible that this building is still here and it just says a lot about the previous owners for how much love that they had for this place that it is still standing, and how much the community wants to keep supporting this.”
Now, geometric patterns of blue and gold carpet — artfully named after the art deco icon, Gatsby — weave throughout the walkways of the theater. Arches dropped throughout the room call back to the same era, along with the sconces surrounding the 175-seat arena.
Future of the Theatre
In January, honoring the theater’s longstanding tradition of anniversary celebrations, Hockman held the 85th birthday party. This coming January, she said she will bring back the grand opening celebrations slated for July, to allow snowbirds a chance to celebrate the success.
Ahead of this weekend’s events, soft opening activities included free screenings of Barbie from June 30 through July 3.
Grand opening festivities on July 18th are sold out, but screenings of the documentary, A New Wave: Revival of The Beach Theatre by Lunar Speedboat Productions continue through July 21.
GoldenEye, a James Bond movie France co-wrote, will be screened July 25-27. Showings of The Green Flash run Aug. 1-3, followed by the 40th anniversary of Summer Rental, a film shot in St. Pete Beach, from Aug. 6-10.
There will also be live events, including music. On July 27, during the theater’s first open house, the Florida Festive Singers will perform. Celtic Conundrum, a Dunedin-based band, plays two shows on August 17.
The very first Beach Theatre Play Festival kicks off on Sept. 19. The three-day festival gives playwrights an unbiased space to showcase their work at its early stages. Hearing audience feedback and gauging reception is just one of the ideas Hockman hoped for in purchasing the theatre.
“We get to do live theater at The Beach Theatre,” she said. “That’s really exciting. That wasn’t a thing here for a long time. I’m excited to get to show everybody how we’re going to transform the space from a live theater to a cinema.”
The Beach Theatre, 315 Corey Ave, St. Pete Beach. (727) 340-2866. thebeachtheatre.org.
