ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — A historic theater in St. Pete Beach is under new ownership.

What You Need To Know

  • The Beach Theatre is under new ownership after the historic theater was purchased in 2021

  • The new owners plan on bringing back movies and live events to the theater, which was built in 1940

  • According to Hannah Hockman, director of the Beach Theatre Foundation, it will take about a year to renovate the building

The Beach Theatre was purchased in 2021 after sitting dormant for almost a decade.

There was anticipation that it would be restored to showcase movies once again but, three years later, that has not happened.

There are old movie posters strewn about that have essentially been sitting inside the Beach Theatre for years.

Now, Hannah Hockman and her family own all of them.

“This has been my life the past 24 hours, just rolling posters,” she said.

At just 25 years old, Hockman is the director of the Beach Theatre Foundation, which bought the old silver screen shop at the end of February.

“There are hundreds of these things,” Hockman said as she continued to roll up old movie posters.

According to Hockman, her parents used to go on movie dates at the Beach and soon, she says it’ll be restored to show films and host live events once again.

“I've always wanted to own my own theater company, movie theater, live theater, all of it,” Hockman said. “So, this is just, I never thought it would happen at 25, but here we are.”

The Beach Theatre opened in 1940. The last time Spectrum Bay News 9 was inside the place was in 2021 after the previous owners bought it.

At the time, it still had pieces of the old theater inside. Now, three years later, Hockman’s in charge but the inside is pretty much gutted, except for an old projector, some seats and those old posters.

“It sounds crazy, but I've been dreaming of this since I was 15,” Hockman said. “I mean, I have so many things planned for this place.”

That includes screening cult classics and holding live productions.

Hockman said it should take at least a year to do all the refurbishments, which includes getting proper permits and spending thousands on new seats and equipment.

But it doesn’t take long before folks walking by to see Hockman at work and get excited to know the Beach is coming back.

This is what energizes Hockman for the work ahead, knowing that people with memories at the Beach will soon be able to make new ones, whether it’s on stage or screen.

Hockman said her father is in real estate and has always told her to buy and sell real estate, leading her to tie her love of theater into that line of work.

She says she recently visited a refurbished theater in Georgia that is similar to the Beach to get some ideas on how to restore her building back to its former glory.