Boulevard Theater (Miami)
{{short description|Former movie theater in Miami, now an adult entertainment club}}
{{Infobox theatre
| name = Boulevard Theater
| image = Boulevard Theater.png
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
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| address = 7770 Biscayne Boulevard
| city = Miami, Florida
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|25|50|49.0|N|80|11|05.8|W|region:US-FL_source:kolossus-svwiki|display=inline,title}}
| designation =
| architect = Weed & Reeder
| owner = Leroy Griffith
| tenant =
| operator = Paramount Enterprises, Inc. (1940s)
| capacity = 974
| type =
| opened = {{Start date and age|1940|11|21}}
| reopened =
| yearsactive = 1940-present
| rebuilt =
| closed =
| demolished =
| othernames =
| production =
| currentuse = Gold Rush Cabaret (adult nightclub)
| website = [http://www.goldrushcabaret.com/ goldrushcabaret.com]
}}
The Boulevard Theater is a former movie theater located at 7770 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida.{{cite web|title=Boulevard Theatre|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10894|publisher=cinematreasures.org|accessdate=15 December 2014}} It is owned by theater and nightclub proprietor and former Broadway theater producer Leroy Griffith.
The theater has variously served as a night club and adult movie theater. It is currently an adult entertainment club, Gold Rush Cabaret.
History
File:Boulevard grand opening.png
The Boulevard's doors first opened on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 21, 1940. Hailed as "the finest neighborhood theater in the South," the Boulevard featured modern amenities unique to the period, including a massive air conditioning system, acoustical walls, and neon lighting.{{cite news|title=Paramount Chain Completes Newest Theater in Miami|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19401120&id=FkAuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZNgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4056,1681286&hl=en|accessdate=19 April 2015|work=The Miami Daily News|date=November 21, 1940}}
The theater, part of the Paramount Theatres chain, debuted with a matinee showing of Rhythm on the River, starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin.
Purchased by Griffith for $165,000 in 1970 and renamed the Pussycat, he created three different theaters within: the Pussycat, the center theater, was a 900-seat theater that showed adult films including Deep Throat; the Kitty Cat featured female performers; and the Tomcat featured male performers.{{cite news|last1=Norman|first1=Forrest|title=The Battle of Biscayne|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/the-battle-of-biscayne-6337882|accessdate=19 April 2015|work=The Miami New Times|date=February 2, 2006}}
Over the decades, the theater has also been known variously as Black Gold, Club Madonna II, Pussycat II, Shadows, and Wonderland.
Community activists have tried, and failed, to shut down the theater during its time as an adult club.{{cite news|title=Edifice Complex: Boulevard Theater|url=http://www.biscaynetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95:edifice-complex-boulevard-theater|accessdate=19 April 2015|work=The Biscayne Times|date=July 2008}}{{cite news|last1=Bojnansky|first1=Erik|title=Boulevard Theater: The New Incarnation|url=http://www.biscaynetimes.com/index.php?id=491:boulevard-theater-the-new-incarnation&option=com_content&catid=50:community-news&Itemid=166|accessdate=19 April 2015|work=The Biscayne Times|issue=February 2010}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://goldrushcabaret.com/ Gold Rush Cabaret]
Category:1940 establishments in Florida