The nonprofit that manages and programs the Florida Theatre is seeking proposals to restore the marquee above the main entrance of the historic venue to its original 1927 appearance.
“We are not replacing the marquee, but rather we plan to restore the existing marquee,” Florida Theatre President Numa Saisselin said July 28.
The Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center Inc., which operates the city-owned theater at 128 E. Forsyth St. Downtown, is seeking the proposals.
Saisselin said $17.1 million of mostly interior restoration is completed. The 2025 budget includes $2.1 million to demolish the abandoned boiler chimney on the back wall of the stage, which went out of service when a new HVAC system was installed in 2023.
“It takes up 35 square feet, which is valuable real estate on a stage like ours. We are also building a new artist greenroom where the boiler room used to be and a new stage left dressing room in an abandoned mechanical room above it. These projects should be complete by late winter or early spring 2026,” Saisselin said.
Proposals for the work to be done on the marquee are due by 2 p.m. Aug. 13, according to a public notice published in the Jacksonville Daily Record.
“That project has about an 18-month lead time, so my best guess is that we are two or three years away from flipping the switch on a newly restored marquee,” Saisselin said.
The 98-year-old theater was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1982.