JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville could soon see another independent movie theater shuttered.
The historic Sun-Ray Cinema in 5 Points could be closing, according to an update the business shared in a social media post, which has received hundreds of comments.
On Wednesday, News4JAX spoke with multiple people who said they love the theatre, how it has been a staple in the Riverside community and how they would hate to see it go away.
“I hate it. 5 points just doesn’t need any more of a change. Take commercialism downtown, but leave this little sanctuary,” Debbie Padgett wrote on a News4JAX Facebook post.
“It shocks me that this is even a consideration or a possibility. This is the only theater I ever go to,” Lisa Bond wrote on Facebook.
Sun-Ray’s post on Tuesday raised questions and concerns surrounding the future of the nearly 100-year-old cinema, particularly following the closure last year of the historic San Marco Theatre.
According to the Facebook post, the 5 Points Theater on Park Street could face closure because its landlord is looking to sell the property to a Georgia-based company -- which has not extended a new lease to the cinema. It’s not clear when its current lease expires.
“The sale isn’t complete but we’ve not received any offers to continue our lease once the building is purchased,” the post reads. “We had one meeting with the potential buyers from Atlanta back in January and never heard from them again.”
The cinema said its attempts to purchase the theater portion of the building were also turned down.
Amid rumors spread on social media about the possible sale, building owner Jack Shad released a statement, as first reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record:
“Our family bought the 5 Points Theatre Building in 2004 and did a complete historic rehabilitation to return this beautiful building to its original appearance. After almost 20 years, it is time for us to sell the building to a new owner who can maintain that legacy. After a long search, we have found a buyer with experience managing other historic properties throughout the southeast,” Shad said in an email.
He declined to identify the buyer but said it would be honoring all of the existing leases, as required by law.
“We’re very proud to have played a small role in the ongoing history of 5 Points, and we’re excited to see what the future brings,” Shad said.
Property records show the 16,037-square-foot building at 1028 Park St. is owned by 5 Points Theatre Building LLC. It was acquired in 2004 for $2 million.
Tenants include Sun-Ray Cinema and Brew Five Points.
A website created in support of Sun-Ray said the developer wants to bulldoze the cinema and turn it into a virtual golf course or parking garage. But Sun-Ray took to its Instagram page to address the claim.
“The building isn’t going to be a parking garage,” the company posted.
The reality of the building being torn down is unlikely. The Florida Times-Union reported that the building Sun-Ray Cinema is currently in has a historic designation and can’t be torn down without approval from the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission.
City Councilman Jimmy Peluso weighed in on social media, posting that the news hit him “like a ton of bricks.” Peluso said he’s alarmed that 5 Points could lose a major icon that makes the neighborhood special.
“I’ve been speaking with the owners, property owners & other merchants to see how we got here,” he wrote. “If I can fix this, I will.”
About 100 years ago, it was called the Riverside Theatre.
The cinema has been open since 1927 and was the first movie theater in Florida to show talking pictures.
Historian Dr. Wayne Wood referenced the book he wrote that mentions the theatre he’s loved for 50 years.
“Roy Benjamin was the most prolific theatre architect in the southern United States in all history,” Wood said.
Wood said Benjamin designed more than 200 movie theaters, including the San Marco Theater and the Florida Theater.
20 years after it’s opening, they changed the name to the Five Points Theatre.
By the ‘70s it closed then it reopened and was used as a performing arts theatre and club.
In 2004 the Shad family bought it and in 2011 it became Sun-Ray cinema.
“It’s just like no other place in Jacksonville. And we can’t afford to lose another historic building like this,” Wood said.
The business is urging supporters to send an email to the owner to save the cinema. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the campaign had more than 1,500 signatures, the Times-Union reported.
“Sun-Ray is located inside the sole remaining historic first-run movie theater in Jacksonville and we must save it,” the website said.
Click here to sign the petition.
(Note: The bottom of the website asking for support stated that the “action alert was created by the Save Sun-Ray campaign and has no affiliation with Sun-Ray Cinema nor does [it] have any authority to speak or act on behalf of the theater or its employees.”)
Outside the cinema, there are businesses that often come and go. This is why some say they are not surprised to see efforts to change the theatre to something else.
“Being a small, independently owned business means that when circumstances change, when finances change, when you know conditions in life, you know, don’t make your business as maybe profitable as it once was. It forces you to sort of take a different turn,” said Shannon Blankinship, Executive Director of the Riverside-Avondale Preservation.
That hasn’t been the case for Sun-Ray.
“I would feel very disappointed [if it closed], I would have less of a reason to come to Five Points,” said Sun-Ray customer Miranda Weathers.
They credit movies coming to the theatre that you can’t see anywhere else and an experience unique to Jacksonville.
“Not only is it a great movie theater, but it kind of fits in the funky vibe of Five Points. It’s a little offbeat, and the lobby is painted with murals from monster movies. And it’s a very personal theater,” Wood said.
“It is a part of Five Points. I don’t think it would be the same without it,” Weathers said.