Riverside theater's long life: early talkies, 'Saturday Night Seduction,' indie favorites
Jacksonville was a busy spot for filmmakers in the early decades of the 20th century, but there was still plenty of enthusiasm for the newfangled "talkies" that began coming out in 1927 — just in time for the opening of the new movie theater in Riverside's historic Five Points shopping district.
Then known as the Riverside Theatre, it was the first in Florida equipped to show those talkies. It opened a month before Florida Theatre, a downtown movie palace that's still a Jacksonville entertainment hub.
And with some significant breaks over the years, the theater in Five Points is still showing movies, 97 years later. But the future of that current enterprise, Sun-Ray Cinema, seems up in the air after news that the 16,000-square-foot building that houses the theater (along with offices and retail) will soon have new owners.
Sun-Ray Cinema, which remodeled the space and opened in 2011, has become a night-out staple in Riverside with its mix of independent and mainstream movies, along with other offbeat offerings.
The business posted on Facebook saying the cinema owners, Tim Massett and Shana David-Massett, spoke to the potential buyer in January and have not yet been offered a lease extension.
History and uproar at the Sun-Ray and setting the record straight
News of the uncertain future for the building and theater sparked rumors, an online petition and a social media uproar — understandable considering Jacksonville's spotty record at preserving historic buildings.
Wayne Wood, who 50 years ago was the founder of Riverside Avondale Preservation, included the building in the second edition of his book "Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage" released in 2022.
"It is the seminal building in the Five Points shopping area, and one of the Riverside Avondale district’s largest, most historic buildings," he said. "Not only was it the site of the first talking movies in Florida, it’s just been the focal hub of that whole area.“
He praised the current owners, the Shad family, for its "heroic effort" to restore the theater's facade, which had been covered with stucco, when it was converted from a nightclub back into a cinema.
Mike Shad significantly renovated the building after purchasing it in 2004, obtaining historic landmark designation for it. The Riverside Avondale Preservation organization honored him for his preservation work on the building earlier this year.
That move, and a statement by the owners that they have found a buyer with experience managing other historic properties, might give some comfort to those worried about the future of the building. The owners also confirmed that its landmark status meant the building could not be turned into a parking garage, as early rumors claimed.
Sun-Ray Cinema building: It's a historic landmark. What does that mean?
Alan Bliss, CEO of the Jacksonville History Center, said small theaters like the Sun-Ray used to be iconic places in an increasingly urban America, though they're gone or endangered just about everywhere.
Even so, he thinks demolition of the entire building would be very highly unlikely, given public sentiment and obstacles that would include approval from the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission (and an appeal to the City Council if that's turned down).
”That would be such a heavy lift," Bliss said. “While I'm talking to you, I'm shaking my heard thinking, no, come on."
What are some key dates in the long history of the theater at 1028 Park St.?
1927: Opens as the Riverside Theatre, just in time for the "talkies." Designed by Roy Benjamin, who also had a big part in designing downtown’s Florida Theatre, which opened a month later. He also was the architect on the San Marco Theatre that opened in 1938 and operated until last year. Plans call for the San Marco to reopen as a restaurant.
1949: Remodeled, with new marquee added. Reopens as the 5 Points Theatre, which has a long run into the early 1980s.
Taking a break from movies
1984: An acting group, River City Playhouse, moves in.
Jacksonville's silver screens: A look at new and long-gone movie theaters
1991-2005: Nightclubs take over, most famously Club 5, which had a long reign, bringing in numerous national musical acts and DJs. As a 2005 Times-Union story noted, it was also "one of the first clubs to bring leather fetish shows and foam showers to the city, and was notorious for its 'Saturday Night Seduction' show in the late 1990s."
Back to the movies
2008: 5 Points Theatre reopens, with beer and wine. Seats, screen and audio are not up to industry standard, but it gains a fan base.
2011: The Sun-Ray Cinema opens late in 2011 after raising more than $100,000 from private investors and crowd fundraising. Bucking the megaplex trend, the old theater is renovated into a single-screen theater, offering food, beer and wine, and a mix of offbeat and mainstream movies.
The Sun-Ray started off a little slowly. "Trying to open up a business that was a great model for 1930 wasn't such a great idea for 2012," owner Tim Massett said in a story at that time. "It's getting there, but it's slower than we thought." Eventually, though, the theater did become something of a beloved local institution, a spot for relatively mainstream films along with plenty of more independent-minded fare and occasional documentaries and film festivals.
In 2014: It expands into a small second auditorium.
2024: New owners seem set to buy the building, but their plans for it — including whether it will include a movie theater or not — have not yet been announced.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A century's look at Jacksonville's Sun-Ray Cinema and past names
