ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — The Beach Theater is celebrating 85 years in St. Pete Beach.

While it has been closed for more than a decade, renovations are well underway.

Still a few months away from reopening, visitors got a sneak peek at their progress over the weekend.

Owner Hannah Hockman said the building is a place full of memories that she wants to bring back for future generations.

“I’m a theatre kid. I’ve always been a theatre kid,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to own my own theatre company. I never imagined it would happen this early in my life, but the opportunity came up and I really jumped on it.”

There have been challenges along the way. 

The 2024 hurricanes created all sorts of problems that Hockman and her team had to work through.

“Our first day of renovation was during Hurricane Debby,” she said. “And then that followed up with Hurricane Helene, which we took six feet of water. Then hit Hurricane Milton where it blew out our back wall.” 

Despite the obstacles, they’re making major progress and once they perform their first show, Hockman believes everyone will be blown away by what the theater has become.

“I’ve loved this place for years,” she said. “My parents used to come here on dates, like, we’ve always envisioned helping out with the renovation of this place and then when the opportunity came up, we really just jumped on it.” 

The Beach Theater is expected to open back up on July 18.