Coming attraction: After Sun-Ray's closure, here's what's planned for Five Points theater

Alexandria Mansfield, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
Updated ·2 min read

Days after beloved Sun-Ray Cinema showed its last movie, a new entertainment concept has been identified to take over its spot in Jacksonville's historic Five Points.

Five, a new music venue from Marathon Live, plans to open in the Five Points Theater Building at 1028 Park St. that Sun-Ray called home for 13 years.

Five "aims to honor the rich, cultural history of the neighborhood and is slated for a grand opening in January 2025," Marathon Live announced in a news release on Monday.It will complement another, larger Marathon Live project planned in Jacksonville, at the Dennis + Ives development in the city's Rail Yard District.

The Sun-Ray Cinema sign is shown at 1028 Park St. in Five Points. A new live music venue called Five is coming in the future.
The Sun-Ray Cinema sign is shown at 1028 Park St. in Five Points. A new live music venue called Five is coming in the future.

Sun-Ray, which opened in 2011, is set to exit its Five Points movie theater by the end of the month.

The news of Sun-Ray's pending closure came in April when an online petition to keep the cinema in business was widely shared by the theater's fans. Additional rumors circulated that there were plans to turn the space into a parking garage, which would have been nearly impossible due to preservation protections through the city.

In April, the building was sold to Union South Partners, and a month later, Marathon Live filed articles of incorporation for Five with the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations, according to a state online database.

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The Marathon Live company began with Marathon Music Works, a Nashville venue established in 2011, which is described on its website as "now one of the last independently owned and operated venues in the city."

The company has since expanded to operate venues in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Kansas City, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; and St. Louis since 2017, according to its website.

In 2022, the company announced plans to come to Jacksonville with the Dennis + Ives development at 1505 Dennis St.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New music venue Five planned for Sun-Ray spot in Jacksonville

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