THE GREESON THEATER, TAMPA'S FIRST HIGH-CAPACITY ELABORATE THEATER

Feb. 25, 1926 - By this time the Greeson was no longer being used as a theater.
Burgert Bros. photo courtesy of the Tampa Hillsborough Co. Public Library System.

The Greeson Theater was located on the 200 block of Jackson St.  It can be seen below to the left of the Bay View Hotel, with Jackson St. running along the right and Tampa St. to the left.  By this time it was no longer being used as a theater. 

Plans to build the Greeson were announced in the summer of 1909 by Emmett M. Greeson, a prominent Tampa businessman and former Tampa City Council member.  It was Tampa's first large, elaborate theater at an expenditure of about $50,000.  No expense was spared in its construction and furnishings, seating well over 1,000 patrons comforatably. Chelso Peruchi, owner of a local acting company, planned to lease the theater for 10 years.

The theater opened on June 9, 1910 to much fanfare, with its premier performance of "In the Palace of the King."

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The theater seating was segregated, with a separate stairway and second balcony reserved for "the colored patrons." This was strictly enforced as evidenced by this article.

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE GREESON:
"GREESON THEATER A FINE STRUCTURE - Inside scheme worked out along lines of beauty" THE TAMPA TRIBUNE - Jun 16, 1910

THE GREESON IN 1915

The Greeson is labeled as "Tampa Theatre" with the entrance to the theater seen on the north end of the building as a stairway on the first floor.  The auditorium occupied the 2nd & 3rd floors with the stage on the south end.  The first floor consisted of an automobile sales room with the rest of the first floor occupied by a wholesale paper business.  The notations that look like musical notes are fire escapes.

Sanborn map courtesy of the University of Florida Maps collection.

THE STRAND THEATER OPENS

The opening of the Strand in June 1915 probably drew crowds from the Greeson leading to its final curtain call.

CONVERTED FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

As "fine" a structure as it was, by 1920 it had been converted for use in the automotive industry.  The Greeson was bought by W. W. Jones and used by Ben H. Hill who had converted it into three floors of his automobile business, selling is "Cole 8" and "Velie 6" cars.  The first floor was elegantly fitted and furnished for sales rooms and offices, with the parts room behind the office out of view. The 2nd floor, formerly the auditorium. contained repair rooms measuring 100 x 70 feet, and the 3rd floor paint shops, as well as storage for cars.  Cars could drive directly to the third floor through the entrance seen on the right against the Bay View Hotel.

JONES SELLS TO HENSLEY

Louis LeDuc passed away on Feb. 1, 1894. Nothing could be found in the Tampa papers which is unusual considering there was a building at Lafayette & Franklin St. known as the "LeDuc building" where several businesses advertised their location in the early 1890s.  It was also referred to as the "LeDuc block." Wilhelmina LeDuc, as executrix of his estate, filed the necessary legal notice for final discharge from the estate on Aug. 30, 1895.   She may have sold the property any time after his death in 1894.  She sold the property at Jackson and Tampa St. for $3,500 to Emmett M. Greeson, according to the TRIBUNE article below. Now, her son William LeDuc, paid $125,000 for the same property. "Since the closing of the theater it has been used for various purposes."
Nothing could be located in the news regarding the purchase by W. W. Jones from the Greeson Estate.  It
According to the article at left, W. W. Jones bought the property from the Greeson Estate around mid-1923 for $50,000.  Nothing in the news could be found about this transaction from 1920 through 1923. In April 1924 E. W. Hensley & Assoc. bought it from Jones for $82,000, and now Wm. LeDuc had purchased it from Hensley for $125,000, a reported one year increase of 150%. The first floor of the building was being used by Williams & Hanson as a Nash automobile dealer, and by the Tampa agency and service station of Willard batteries.

Feb. 25, 1926 - CROP OF FIRST PHOTO.
Burgert Bros. photo courtesy of the Tampa Hillsborough Co. Public Library System.

WHO WAS E. M. GREESON?