The Ritz Theatre is an African-American oriented theatre in the

LaVilla LaVilla is a historic African American neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida and a was formerly an independent city. It developed after the American Civil War and was eventually annexed to the city of Jacksonville in 1887 and is now considered pa ...

neighborhood of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. The theater, which seats 426, is used for a variety of music, dance and theatrical productions, as well as movies. The spacious lobby is also used for private functions. Just off the lobby is the LaVilla Museum which holds of exhibits. LaVilla is considered "the mecca for African American culture and heritage" in Florida.

History

The Ritz Theater was designed in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style by local architect Jefferson Powell and constructed in 1929 on the site of the Ritz Theater movie house in the LaVilla neighborhood. LaVilla had a thriving, vibrant culture from 1921 to 1971, when it was known as the "Harlem of the South". From the 1970s, the entertainment district of LaVilla went into decline and crime increased, but Mayor Ed Austin's

River City Renaissance River City Renaissance was a $235 million bond issue in 1993 by the city of Jacksonville, Florida which funded urban renewal in some of downtown's most rundown sections. Plan Ed Austin's most lasting contribution as Jacksonville mayor was his Riv ...

plan included $4.2 million to renovate the theatre and museum. The groundbreaking for the project was in 1998, and the pair were reopened on September 30, 1999. The sign and northwest corner are all that remain of the original building.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 30.3348902, -81.6669427, display=title African-American history of Florida History of Jacksonville, Florida Cinemas and movie theaters in Florida Movie palaces Theatres in Jacksonville, Florida Theatres completed in 1929 Art Deco architecture in Florida Downtown Jacksonville LaVilla, Jacksonville 1929 establishments in Florida Historically African-American theaters and music venues African-American history in Jacksonville, Florida