A chat about the future of the St. Pete Beach Theatre with new owner Christopher Scott.

On a recent sunny day my husband and I took advantage of the brief warm weather and sat outside the Swigwam bar enjoying a cocktail. Across the street the doors to the old St. Pete Beach Theatre swung open and a couple walked out - along with a cloud of dust. Since hearing that the theatre had been purchased in August of last year and reading the many articles that have followed, I've been wanting to get a sneak peak. This was my chance.

"Hold my drink" I said as I handed it to my husband who already knew what I was about to do. I bounded across Corey Avenue and eagerly asked if they were the new owners. "Yes" said Christopher Scott in a cheery English accent.  A few others had come out of the building by this time and I realized I was interrupting (not a surprise if you know me), but took the chance to score a future interview for the following Friday afternoon.

During the next week I kept asking myself  what do I want to ask Chris that has not been discussed in the many interviews he'd already done? From all the recent written articles and TV spotlights* that have been produced thus far, I knew where Chris and his family hail from (Maryland via England). I knew the sale was a direct result of his good friend Hendrik Bisanz (real estate broker with Seasalt Properties) who called up Chris and said "you need to buy this theatre". I knew that there wasn't a plan of exactly what to do with it once it was purchased (and it's STILL not set in stone). I knew that a non-profit foundation had been created - The Beach Theatre Community Foundation, Inc. - to involve the local community in restoring the theatre to it's former glory. And finally, I knew that he had hired Shana Nichols and Joey Hager as executive director and director of operations respectively to help with the foundation, website, media and more.

Come Friday I took my scribbled notes and met with Chris on a cold and breezy afternoon. We first walked into the theatre and I got a chance to see the progress to date. Up to this point it's just been a clean-up process. The building had gone nine years without attention and besides the cobwebs everywhere, a roof leak along with hot Florida summers made for a real mess. By the time I had a chance to look inside, the falling ceiling tiles and wall panels had been mostly removed as well as all the seats. Only a faint lingering smell of mildew filled the air along with the dust. "Maybe we should sit outside for the interview" I remarked. We made our way to one of the Corey Avenue park benches for our chat.

Before I started asking questions, Chris told me the story as I mentioned above from his roots in England to his love of the St. Pete Beach area and the subsequent purchase of the theatre. I asked him what he found once he had the keys and went inside the old building. He told me the quintessential red theatre seats were in disrepair and had to be thrown out. A few remain and there is discussion as to what they will do with them. An old movie projector is still in the building and he looked into seeing if it could run again, but unfortunately not - a shame since there are also old reels of film in boxes that didn't get ruined by the hands of time. Chris is hoping to have the projector cleaned up to be put on display in the new lobby. There are also hundreds of old movie posters, many of which Chris says he's never heard of.

For the next half hour we talked about the future of St. Pete Beach's iconic theatre and it's role on Corey Avenue. An architect has drawn up a few different versions of what could be and although Chris has said nothing is set in stone, it became clear to me that it would still be a theatre. Maybe not necessarily a full-time movie house, but perhaps a unique blend of movies, live entertainment and private event space. I asked if the marquee would remain and he said he believed it would. He knows he needs to make a final decision soon so the architect can draw up final plans that can be submitted to the city. Chris' hopes are to be open by the end of summer or early fall.

In the meantime, Shana Nichols and Joey Hager are busy at work keeping the story alive and promoting The Beach Theatre Community Foundation, Inc.  Those movie posters I mentioned? Shana and Joey feel it's a great opportunity for a fundraiser - giving us all a chance to own a nostalgic piece of the theatre's history. If they can find a good way of repurposing the remaining original red seats, they may also be auctioned off. There are also people who are offering their help with other fundraising ideas such as a night of dinner & dancing.

At the end of our chat I asked Chris if there was anything else to say at this point. He paused for a moment and then with a grateful look said "I'd like to tell everyone who has shown interest in our story, who has taken the time to talk with me and who has shared their memories and ideas for the theatre - Thank You".

We wrapped up our interview and he promised to keep me up-to-date on the progress. In an email, Shana told me she'd let me know when we might be able to get our hands on one of those movie posters. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and hope to get one.

I know that we are all waiting to see if the new theatre will be able to bring new happy memories for future patrons. And we all wonder if those memories will be as good as the ones we already have.