A historic Jacksonville movie house announced Thursday that it is moving to Tampa after its lease was not renewed by the new owners of their building.
Sun-Ray Cinema, known for its unique film selections and atmosphere, will soon open in University Mall in a spot previous occupied by a dine-in theater.
“It’s official! We found our next home in Tampa, Florida,” the theater’s owners announced on social media.
The Tampa space will feature 10 screens and a 4,000-square-foot kitchen, giving guests more room to enjoy the theater’s famed snacks and innovative menu offerings, the social media post said. There are two auditoriums and eight other rooms to allow a variety of films and events.
While the Sun-Ray team aims to get things up and running by Thanksgiving, the theater plans an official opening Dec. 11.
“Just in time for Jozef Van Wissem to perform a score to Murnau’s “Nosferatu” two weeks before (Robert) Eggers’ new version opens on Christmas Day,” the announcement said.
F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic was the first adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula." The remake stars Bill Skarsgard in the title role.
The Sun-Ray inema, which opened in 1927 as Riverside Theatre in Jacksonville’s Five Points district, was the first in Florida equipped to show films with sound, according to the Florida Times Union. Later called the Five Points Theater, it was renovated in 2011 and renamed the Sun-Ray Cinema.
Sun-Ray closed in July after Georgia-based Union South Partners, which bought the building earlier in the year, did not renew the lease. Union South is planning $2 million in renovations, and Nashville-based Marathon Live plans to open a music venue call Five in January.
Information from Carianne Luter of News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today/WJCT news partner, was used in this report.
