Editing Rex Theatre

{{Infobox Building
|image=RexTheatre2008.jpg
|caption=The Rex Theatre on Palafox
|name=Rex Theatre
|location=18 N [[Palafox Street]]<br/>Pensacola, FL 32501
|architect=
|client=
|engineer=
|owner=[[Harvest Outreach INC]]
|construction_start_date=
|completion_date=[[1922]]
|renovations=[[1937]], [[1981]], [[1984]], [[1997]],[[2014]]
|date_demolished=
|cost=$95,000 (1984)<br/>$25,000 (1997)<br/>$425,000 (2004)
|structural_system=
|style=Art Deco
|size=40'x150'<br/>three stories<br/>525 seats
|mapcode=<googlemap lat="30.413752" lon="-87.215481" type="map" zoom="17" width="300" height="150">
30.413641, -87.215258, Rex Theatre
</googlemap>
}}
The '''Rex Theatre''' is a historic building at 18 North [[Palafox Street]] in [[downtown Pensacola]]. Known for its distinctive Art Deco façade, it was a second-run movie theater from [[1937]] to [[1977]], but has sat largely unused in the subsequent years, despite several attempts at restoration.

==History==
The building was constructed in [[1922]]<ref name="historicface">"Renovated Rex keeps historic face." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 10, 1998.</ref> as the Rhodes Futch Collins Furniture Company. The company later changed its name to Rhodes-Collins, which can still be seen in faded lettering on the side of the building, and again to simply [[Rhodes Furniture]].

When the furniture company moved to a new, larger building nearby (now known as the [[Rhodes Building]]), the old building was refurbished by the [[Saenger Amusement Company]] to serve as a second-run movie theater, complementing the company's nearby [[Isis Theatre|Isis]] and [[Saenger Theatre]]s. The estimated cost of the renovation was $30,000, and the Rex Theatre opened on [[November 1]], [[1937]].<ref>"Saenger Building Pensacola House." ''Boxoffice'', September 18, 1937.</ref>

[[Warren McGee]] was manager in 1941.<ref>"Concerning Florida." ''Boxoffice'', March 8, 1941.</ref>

Facing competition from newer shopping mall theaters, the Rex closed in [[1977]]. Its owners, the [[ABC Theatre]] chain, donated the building to the [[City of Pensacola]] as a tax write-off.

In [[1981]], attorney [[Gerald McGill]] and [[Frank Antonowich]] leased the building and restored it, hiring [[Theophalis May]] to install tiered flooring. It reopened as the '''Rex Cinema 'n Drafthouse''' on [[July 22]], [[1982]], charging a flat $1 admission for second-run movies and offering a deli-style food menu and a selection of beer and wine.<ref>"Second-run theaters offer new concessions." ''Pensacola News-Journal'', July 11, 1982.</ref> The venture was unsuccessful, but McGill bought the building for $95,000 in [[1984]] and, with businessman [[Russ Dixon]], continued renovations with plans to diversify revenue by serving lunch on weekdays and offering a video real estate tour service.<ref>"Pair plans headlines for cinema marquee." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 11, 1985.</ref>

The city repossessed the building in [[1987]].<ref>"Makeover planned for Rex." ''Pensacola News Journal'', October 10, 1995.</ref> The last event to be held in the theater was the traveling "Dinosaurs Alive!" exhibit in [[1989]].

Architect [[J. P. MacNeil]] bought the theater in [[1997]] for only $25,000 — just half the appraised land value — due to the amount of interior work needed. He and his brother, contractor [[Mark MacNeil]], put over $200,000 of work into the building, including the creation an 1,800-square-foot, contemporary-styled apartment on the second and third floors above the entrance.<ref name="historicface"/> It was sold again in 2004 for $425,000 to [[Tim Hogan]] who had stated an intention to reopen the Rex as a "high-tech, retro-themed" venue for movies and concerts.<ref>[http://inewsloadedgun.blogspot.com/2006/07/rex-returns_05.html Loaded Gun, July 5, 2006]</ref> Local firm [[Bounds Architecture Studio]] began new renovation work,<ref>[http://www.ci.pensacola.fl.us/upload/images/CommunityDevelopment/PDFs/MAD.pdf PDF at City of Pensacola website]</ref> and [[Rick Outzen]] reported on [[Rick's Blog|his blog]] rumors that the Rex might reopen as a live music venue by the end of 2007.<ref>http://ricksblog.biz/?p=1596</ref>  This plan never came to fruition, however, and in 2012, Tim Hogan sold the Rex to Harvest Outreach, Inc for $425,000.

Harvest Church acquired the Rex in August 2012 and has made plans to restore it to a theater once again. Their website <http://www.rexpensacola.com/rex-story> states that they are going to restore the façade to its 1930’s art-deco design and renovate the interior to include a large main theater, a 2nd floor café, and a rooftop patio-style space for special events. The website says the Rex will be a venue for Harvest Church, for small-scale live theater, and for movies, concerts, and other special events.

==Other images==
<gallery>
Image:OldCountyCourthouse1.jpg|The Rex building as the Rhodes Futch Collins Furniture Store (''lower-right'')
</gallery>

==Trivia==
*Retired USN LCDR [[Joseph Hill]] died in the theater on [[March 3]], [[1943]].<ref>http://www.rootsweb.com/~flescamb/F-Psurname_Hh.htm</ref>

==External links & references==
{{refbegin}}
*[http://www.edwardpeyton.com/rexb.html Before] and [http://www.edwardpeyton.com/rexa.html after] photos of the MacNeil renovation
*[http://www.agilitynut.com/theatres/fl.html Roadside Architecture]
*[http://www.escpa.org/Detail_a.aspx?s=000S009007004055 Escambia County Property Appraiser parcel detail]
{{refend}}
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Historic theaters]]
[[Category:Defunct theaters]]
[[Category:Palafox Street buildings]]
[[Category:Landmarks]]