The Hippodrome Theatre (locally known as The Hippodrome or The Hipp) is a regional professional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in downtown Gainesville,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was founded in 1973 by local actors and was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 10, 1979.

History

U.S. Post Office and District Courthouse

The building itself was completed in 1911, and served as a

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

(on the first floor) and a Courthouse of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

(on the second floor).

Structure

Interior design

The present-day interior maintains much of the original walls, doors and beams from its post office and courthouse era.

Historic hand-operated elevator

The Hippodrome building also has one of the oldest working elevators in Florida which requires the operator to manually close the screen, the door, and then pull a crank to operate. The elevator was temporarily taken out of service in January 2024 after an inspection revealed issues with its

braking system A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

. After a year of planning, restoration of the elevator began in February 2025. The renovations are estimated to cost $135,799 and are being funded by Alachua County's Wild Spaces & Public Places half-cent sales tax. They include the repair of damaged components and fabrication of new parts.

Modern renovations

In 2013, due to the imminent discontinuation of

35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the ...

, the theater used a combination of grant funding and a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

project to help fund its transition to digital projectors, which it estimated to cost $40,000. The theater received a series of renovations in 2020, which included

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians * Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...

improvements, better indoor and outdoor lighting, new speakers, and improved air conditioning. These renovations cost the theater over $324,000 and were partially funded by Wild Spaces & Public Places, a 2016 Alachua County tax initiate.

Operations

The Hippodrome uses professional actors and has its own set designers, costume designers, sound engineers and lighting engineers for each of its main stage productions. It also provides youth theater education classes. The Hippodrome features Broadway and off Broadway productions and art house films. The Hippodrome provides arts education for all ages, including classes & camps, in-school programs, workshops and behind-the-scenes opportunities for adults. It is a relatively small location, with a 268-seat

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the ...

main stage theater on the second floor and 80-seat cinema space on the first floor.

References

External links

Hippodrome Theatre

Alachua County listings
a
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

a
Alachua County's Department of Growth Management
{{Greater Gainesville 1973 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Gainesville, Florida Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Culture of Gainesville, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Gainesville, Florida Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Tourist attractions in Gainesville, Florida Government buildings completed in 1973