This is the upper level where the restrooms and entry areas to the balcony seating are located. In the lower right of the above photo you can see the theater area seating below.

Water fountain

In the mid-70s, Tampa citizens rallied to save the theatre by forming committees and involving civic leaders; a deal was soon reached to have the City rescue the Tampa by assuming its leases.

The Arts Council of Hillsborough County agreed to program and manage the theatre with films, concerts and special events. By the time the Tampa reopened in early 1978, it had become something of a national model on how to save an endangered theatre.

All of the interior of the theater is designed to make it appear as if you are outdoors in an old Spanish Mediterranean style villa.  The ceilings are finished to look like the night sky. 

In an October 15, 1926 Tampa Tribune article, John Eberson told how Florida inspired his theatre design: "I have been wintering in Florida for the past several years, and it is from this state that I got the atmospheric idea. I was impressed with the colorful scenes that greeted me at Miami, Palm Beach and Tampa. Visions of Italian gardens, Spanish patios, Persian shrines and French formal gardens flashed through my mind, and at once I directed my energies to carrying out these ideas."