The Phillips Theatre

In the heart of downtown Orlando, at the intersection of Pine Street and Orange Avenue, stands the former Phillips Theater. The Phillips Theatre, named for Dr. Philip Phillips, opened on October 10, 1917 and was the fourth movie theatre in the city of Orlando. The theatre was operated until October 1929 as the Phillips Theatre, then being renamed the Ritz Theatre.

The Phillips Theatre, likely in April 1923. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Regional History Center.

Braxton Beacham, Jr. and the Grand Amusement Company

Braxton Beacham, Jr. was born in Orlando on March 31, 1891, to Braxton and Roberta Beacham. He attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and graduated in the law class of 1915. He intended to become an attorney, but in November 1915, he was named the manager of both the Grand Theatre and the Grand Amusement Company.

Before the Phillips Theatre opened in 1917, the Grand Amusement Company ran not only the Grand Theatre, but also the Lucerne Theatre and the Baby Grand in Winter Park. The Lucerne was closed at the time and undergoing renovations, but was reopened in November 1915 as a five-cent theatre. Under Beacham’s management, both the Lucerne and Grand Theatres underwent renovations the following year, with both theatres adding seats and the Grand gaining a $6500 organ.

The Phillips Theatre

In July 1917, the Phillips Theatre was purchased by the Grand Amusement Company; bringing the total amount of theatres under their management to six (the company also managed two theatres in Kissimmee).

The Phillips Theatre, likely during “Big Week” in 1921. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Regional History Center.

The Phillips Theatre building was located on the corner of Pine Street and Orange Avenue and cost $100,000 (adjusted for inflation, about $2.5 million in 2025 dollars) to build. The theatre was designed by architect Murray Schaeffer King, who was also responsible for the Yowell-Duckworth Department Store building and the Athens Theater in DeLand; the contractor was F. A. Peppercorn. The Orlando Sentinel first reported that it was slated to open on September 1 and would show the Mary Pickford film The Poor Little Rich Girl.

Front page of the July 7, 1917 The Morning Sentinel
READ FULL ARTICLE

The new theatre is a model of excellence and one of the best in Florida. […] The interior is so arranged as to permit a perfect view of the stage from every corner of the auditorium. The parquet is not large but there is a gradual “gallery” rise which makes the rear seats desirable.

There are many spacious exits which will protect the audience in case of disturbance. However, there can be no possibility of fire as a water system has been installed which forbids conflagration. The sprinkling system is one of the features of the theatre being installed at a big expense. It is stated that this system is of entirely new design and unequalled [sic] in the state. The stage is very large and will be an additional inducement for high class theatrical companies to make Orlando.

Though originally scheduled to open September 1, 1917, the Phillips Theatre did not open until October 10, 1917. Through late September and early October, ads and reminders appeared in the Orlando Sentinel about the opening of the new theatre, in fact ads for the Dickson-Ives Fall Fashion Show also featured information about the theatre’s grand opening. A number of these ads mentioned that the Douglas Fairbanks’ film Wild and Woolly was expected to be the first film shown.

Phillips Theatre grand opening mentioned in a Dickson-Ives ad in the September 30, 1917 Morning Sentinel
SEE FULL AD

Clipping from the front page ad from the October 7, 1917 Morning Sentinel
SEE FULL SIZE

The scheduled films for the first three weeks were also shared in the paper and included films starring Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Elsie Ferguson. The first live show was expected to take place on October 18, 1917. Reminders of the theatre’s opening were also published in the October 10, 1917 Morning Sentinel. The short article was one of a few from the front page that had nothing to do with the then ongoing First World War.

Articles in the October 10, Evening Reporter Star and the October 11 Morning Sentinel both report that the Phillips Theatre did not open with Wild and Woolly, with the Evening Reporter Star instead confirming that the Mary Pickford film A Romance of the Redwoods was the first film show. According to the Morning Sentinel, Wild and Woody was not shown until November 14 and 15, 1917. Express congestion due to World War I was noted as the reason the film failed to arrive in time for the theatre’s grand opening.

Clipping from the Evening Reporter Star, October 10, 1917
SEE FULL SIZE

Clipping of an article in the October 11, 1917 Morning Sentinel
SEE FULL PAGE

The First World War had additional effects on the movie-going population; Braxton Beacham, Jr. is quoted in the December 29, 1917 issue of Motion Picture News as saying that 275 men from Orlando were called to serve and that patronage was down about 4 to 5 percent. Braxton Beacham, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve in late July 1918, with the notice appearing in the July 27, 1918 Orlando Morning Sentinel.

The Phillips Theatre continued operations in Beacham’s absence. On September 1, Mr. H. Carl Dann became manager of the Grand, Lucerne and Phillips theatres. By November 1918, the new manager of the Grand Amusement Co. was Harry B. Vincent. Braxton Beacham, Jr. returned as manager of the Grand Amusement Co. in December 1918.

Operations of the Phillips, Lucerne, and Grand Theatres switched hands to Orlando Enterprises in September 1920, with the notice appearing in the September 3, 1920 Orlando Morning Sentinel. By late 1921, Braxton Beacham, Jr. and his father would, in a joint venture, open the Beacham Theatre.

The Ritz Theatre

Clipping of the advertisement for the Ritz Theatre’s grand reopening, Orlando Morning Sentinel, October 23, 1929
SEE FULL PAGE

The Phillips Theatre remained operational through the end of the 1920s, but would rebrand itself as the Ritz Theatre in October 1929. The grand re-opening of the theatre occurred on October 23, 1929, with the John Gilbert film His Glorious Night.

By April 1932, the Ritz Theatre was managed under the Sparks Theatre chain umbrella, along with the Rialto and the Beacham. The theatre continued to operate until late April 1934. An ad from the Orlando Morning Sentinel on Sunday, April 29, 1934 indicates that the showing of Good Dame was the last day. The statement on its own was a common sight, however, in early May, the theatre no longer appears in Sparks theatre advertising. The building was sold to W. T. Grant in July of the same year and it was converted for retail use.

Clipping of the ad for the Ritz from the April 29, 1934 Orlando Morning Sentinel

W. T. Grant’s

Photo of Grant’s in November 1934 from the November 23, 1934 Orlando Morning Sentinel
SEE FULL PAGE

The former theatre was remodeled from July to November 1934 and its grand opening as a W. T. Grant’s store was on Saturday, November 24, 1934. W. T. Grant’s was a discount store, with most items being sold for a dollar or under.

W. T. Grant’s maintained the location in downtown Orlando from 1934 to 1973, but also operated locations in Central Florida in Colonialtown and Mount Dora. In the early 1970s, the address of the W. T. Grant’s on South Orange Avenue and Pine Street is listed as being a division between W. T. Grant’s and Diskey’s Discount Store. The location is not mentioned in the 1974 Orlando City Directory. W. T. Grant’s filed for bankruptcy and went out of business in 1976.

The Phillips Building

The Phillips Building was used for retail purposes until the early 2000s, however, a push for a downtown arts district allowed for subsidies to be used for rent of the building, enabling the Central Florida Theatre Alliance to rent out three of the four floors of the Phillips Building. The building was then rented by OVAL but the cost of rent forced them out.

Plaque on the Phillips Theatre, August 2025

In June 2006, CityArts Factory opened at 29 S. Orange where it remained until November 2018 before moving to the Rogers Keine building. From 2010 to 2024, SAK Comedy Lab leased space in the Phillips Theatre. The Phillips Building has been leased to Parliament House since 2021.