Downtown Orlando’s Beacham Theatre has been around for more than 100 years – and it’s seen a lot of changes over that time.
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The theater was built in 1921 by former Orlando mayor Braxton Beacham, a citrus baron, on the site of the old county jail. It was popular among visitors of the nearby San Juan and Angebilt hotels; both were connected to the theater by tunnels.
The Beacham initially hosted vaudeville shows and movies. The films ended in 1975 and the theater then operated as the Great Southern Music Hall, Laser World, a Las Vegas-style cabaret and a dinner theater. It was also was Tabu Nighclub and Dekko’s.
Now again called The Beacham, the venue is open as a nightclub, hosting concerts and live events.
Throughout its history, the Beacham hosted a variety of musical acts: including the composer John Philip Sousa, The Killers, The Police, Lauryn Hill, hip hop artists J. Cole, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled and electronic dance music DJs Benny Benassi, Tiesto, Afrojack and David Guetta.
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There’s disagreement whether The Beacham was Orlando’s first theater. Files prepared for the city’s Historic Preservation Board say it was, but local historian Joy Wallace Dickinson said others were first, but none as big.
“There were other theaters downtown, but The Beacham got the big new movies,” said Dickinson, who wrote a history column for the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s where you went on dates to see the new movies.”
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