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Beacham Theatre

March 12, 2024

28°32′35″N 81°22′46″W / 28.543°N 81.379472°W / 28.543; -81.379472

Beacham Theatre
Exterior of venue (c.2016)
Former namesBeacham Theatre (1921–1976; 2011–present)

Great Southern Music Hall (1976–81)
Laser World (1981–82)
Moulin Orange (1983–84)
Celebrity Dinner Theater (1984–87)
Aahz (1988–92)
Dekko's (1992–94)
Zuma Beach Club (1994–2000)

Tabu (2001–10)
General information
TypeTheater
Architectural styleCommercial, Art Deco and Mediterranean Revival
Address46 N Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32801-2419
CompletedDecember 9, 1921
Renovated1936, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000
ClientBraxton Beacham Sr.
OwnerBeacham Theatre, LLC. (Missy Casscells and Frank Hamby)
Dimensions
Other dimensions145 feet (44 m) across x 213.5 feet (65.1 m) deep
Technical details
Structural systemReinforced concrete and brick with stucco out-surface
Floor area30,965 square foot (2,876.7 m2)
Other information
Seating capacity1,250
Website
Venue Website

The Beacham Theatre is a cinema built in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr. in the city of Orlando, Florida. The current address of the theater is 46 North Orange Avenue, and it is located at the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Washington Street. The building's current lack of impressive architecture is offset by its significant cultural history.[1][2][3][4] The Beacham Theatre was considered an important contributing structure when the Downtown Orlando historic district was created in 1980 and the building was granted local landmark status in 1987.[5]

The Beacham was once part of the vaudeville circuit and hosted celebrity acts such as John Philip Sousa, the Ziegfeld Follies and W.C. Fields, whose signature was once visible inside a dressing room. In the eras of silent film and Classical Hollywood cinema, the Beacham was operated as a movie theater that used then-current state-of-the-art motion picture technology.

The Beacham, as it is currently named, has since been used as a series of concert venues and nightclubs thus saving it from demolition. The Beacham Theatre was once home to the internationally recognized[6] late-night underground discotheque Aahz, a notable early component of the US electronic dance music movement in the early 1990s.[7]

History edit

Construction edit

 
The former Orange County Jail on the site of the Beacham Theatre

The Beacham Theatre was constructed in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr., who had previously owned three other Orlando theaters[8] and had served as Mayor of Orlando during 1907.[5] In 1917 Beacham paid approximately $17,500–$20,000 for the property one block southwest of his stately residence on Jefferson Street after Orlando's citizens voted to pave the road to the cemetery instead of purchasing the old jail.[9] The property he purchased had formerly served as the jail for Orange County since about 1873.[10] With a $200,000 investment, the former jail building was torn down in 1919 and Beacham developed a series of connected building units along the west side of Orange Avenue between Washington Street and Oak Street (now Wall Street). The new building was then known as "Beacham's Block" and is now known as the Beacham Building. The location of Beacham's theater was precisely where several condemned prisoners were executed by hanging.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] According to local folklore, the Beacham Building is reportedly haunted.[15][17]

The Beacham Theatre was constructed to have excellent acoustics.[11][18] The Beacham's auditorium features "square columns adorned with feathered capitals that climb gracefully to a high ceiling decorated with rectangles of intricate plasterwork."[1] When constructed, the theater was outfitted with draperies that covered the plaster walls. The draperies had "mild tan figures delicately woven into the broad white field with an occasional soft blue figure" that were selected by Mrs. Roberta Holland Beacham, wife of Braxton Beacham Sr.[19]

 
The Beacham Theatre shortly after construction in 1921

Beacham outfitted his theater with innovative state-of-the art equipment from the Southern Theater Equipment Company of Atlanta.[20] The Beacham's box office in the lobby featured both an automatic admission ticket vending machine dispenser and ticket chopping machine. A decorative marquee that was unique in Florida extended toward the street and featured an electric changeable sign that flashed the daily program.[19] Two Powers 6B type "E" projectors were supplied by the N Power company of New York. The Midas Gold film screen was made especially for the Beacham. A medium-sized pipe organ from the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, was purchased and installed at a cost of $15,000.[19] The organ, Opus 1034 with 3 manuals in a center console, 24 ranks of pipes and 24 stops[21] was played by both Mr. Herman Stuart and Mrs. Roberta Branch Beacham, wife of Braxton Beacham Jr. to accompany silent films and vaudeville acts.[19] Typhoon cooling and ventilating equipment was installed in the theater. The Beacham Building's construction featured numerous fireproofing and fire safety measures. When the theater opened, the auditorium had an operating capacity of 1400.[19]

Tunnels from the theater stage trap ran into the basements of two nearby hotels. The tunnels had low ceilings and were sealed during new construction in the early 1980s. The tunnels extended south into the San Juan Hotel, where Mr. Beacham happened to have had an office,[22] and then east under Orange Avenue into the Angebilt Hotel. Historians reason that the purpose of the tunnels may have been either for vaudeville performers to enter the theater from their hotels without being mobbed by crowds, or the tunnels could have been used for the storage and transportation of alcoholic beverages during prohibition as has been discovered at some of the other theaters in the Central Florida area.[16][23][24]

Vaudeville and Silent film era edit

On December 9, 1921, Orlando's premier vaudeville and movie house opened by showing The Wonderful Thing, starring Norma Talmadge, a Pathé News newsreel, and Buster Keaton's The Boat.[9][25] The Beacham Theatre was originally the only independent theater in Orlando.[19] However, the next year, in 1922, Beacham leased his theater to Mack Sparks of the Sparks Theater Company chain.[12][15]

 
Beacham Theatre and San Juan Hotel circa 1923. Marquee: The Second Orlando Picture The Burned Crucifix

The senior Braxton Beacham died in 1924 after a long illness, and Roberta Holland Beacham died soon after in 1926. Their estate and real property were left to their children, Norma K. Hughes, Roberta Augusta Rogers, Braxton Beacham Jr., and his wife Roberta Branch Beacham.[22]

Florida and Orlando were on what was referred to by vaudeville performers as "The Straw Hat Circuit." The Beacham Theatre was included on the Alexander Pantages, Orpheum, and Keith-Albee vaudeville performance circuits (later combined as the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit).[3][9]

Manager Harry Vincent started several promotions at the Beacham Theatre in the summer months of the mid-1920s that included Bank Night, Amateur Night, and Country Store Night, which was supported by dozens of local merchants. An advertisement for the Beacham in 1925 says, "Don't talk about the hot weather. Beat the heat in a Beacham seat. 'Kum Keep Kumfy Kool at the Beacham' is known to many and you won't enjoy yourself until you too get into the line that leads to comfort."[26]

Frank Bell served as manager of the theater with organist Herman Siewart and Ken Guernsey leading the community sing-along at open forum meetings that were held for several months during the winter on Sunday afternoons.[22]

The Beacham's "exploitation director" Frank H. Burns often designed and created large elaborate standing displays that decorated the facade and lobby of the theater to advertise new film features.[27] The iconic displays that Burns created for the Beacham Theatre were sometimes complete with coordinated costumes for the employees.

In 1928 Vitaphone and Movietone "talkie" equipment debuted during the city's first "Progress Week" during the last week of August. "The queen of the vamps," actress Theda Bara, was in appearance at the Beacham as students from Orlando High School sneaked into the balcony via the fire escape.[9][12] Sound was provided by two gramophone discs that accompanied each film. Both phonographs were played simultaneously in case the needle skipped during a film. Output could be easily switched so that the film's sound could remain in synchronicity with the picture.[28] William Booth succeeded Frank Bell as manager of the Beacham after Bell was transferred in 1928.[22]

The city's "Sunday closing law" was repealed by voters in 1929 by a majority of only 59 votes. Movie theaters and other businesses in Orlando were then permitted to operate seven days a week. All of Orlando's theaters, including the Beacham, celebrated by showing free films until late into the night.[29]

End of the vaudeville and silent film era edit

Interest in silent films began to diminish in 1929 and they were gradually phased out and moved into obsolescence. On Thursday evenings at the Beacham for the Bank Night promotion, $200 was raffled with prizes of $50. On Saturday, December 24, 1931, and on Wednesday, September 28, 1932, a brand new $325 Austin 7 Sport Roadster was given away. Vaudeville acts continued touring at the Beacham for several more years until approximately 1933. Homer Fuller served as manager of the Beacham during the end of the eras of silent films and vaudeville.

In 1933 following a bitter lawsuit against Orlando Enterprises over nonpayment of the lease for the building that had been originally negotiated with the senior Braxton Beacham in 1924, the theater was closed for almost three weeks. $8000 in back taxes on Beacham's building was due. Beacham Jr. claimed the closure was deliberate and malicious and sued for $100,000. Two separate judgments were entered against Orlando Enterprises Inc. for $2291.67 each and a payment agreement was reached. Litigation was then withdrawn.[22]

As a result of the suit the lease was not renewed and Beacham's theater again became Orlando's only independent cinema.[30] In the same year, the theater was soon leased Florida State Theaters.[12][13] Harry Vincent was named manager of the reopened theater in 1933; however, soon after, Vernon D. Hunter became the theater's manager and remained in that role for the next two decades.[22]

First-Run Movie era edit

In August 1937 the Orlando Police Department raided the Beacham Theatre. All of the equipment for the Bank Night marketing promotion was seized after authorities declared it to be a lottery.[5][9][22]

The Yearling was filmed locally in 1946 and the Beacham's projectionist Byram McGee served as an electrician and steward on the film production. Mcgee's wife Lois acted in the role of Ma Forrester and was also the production's wardrobe supervisor. Numerous other local technicians were involved with making the film.[22]

The Orlando Story, filmed by Don Parrisher Motion Picture Productions of New York, contained images of daily life in Orlando. The movie was heavily promoted locally and was shown at the Beacham over three days in August 1949.[31]

 
Student ticket for The Robe and the debut of CinemaScope at the Beacham Theatre

In December 1949 The Tom Thumb Follies staged radio broadcast performances at the Beacham. When a Santa Claus from the Elks Lodge lifted one young elf into the audience for the last verse, the smell of bourbon whiskey caused her to ponder, "I wasn't just sure where the night's polka would land us. Maybe Oz?"[32]

After an extensive remodel, CinemaScope equipment was introduced at the "New" Beacham Theatre in 1954 with the addition of stereophonic sound, new projection lenses, and a wider screen.[33] CinemaScope had its debut at the Beacham on January 7, 1954, for a two-week showing of the film The Robe.[34] Vernon D. Hunter retired after 20 years as manager of the Beacham Theater. Walter Colby became the executive director of several Orlando theaters including the Beacham.[22]

Braxton Beacham Jr., died in 1961.

 
The box office of the Beacham Theatre in March 1991. The 1954 box office was removed in 2000.

During the Civil Rights Movement, the Beacham Theatre had frequent stand-in protests by African American citizens of relegation to lesser "colored theaters" mandated by Jim Crow laws such as the Florida Constitution of 1885. Reverend Nelson Pinder, of Parramore's Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, along with other community leaders such as NAACP Youth Council advisor, Rev. Curtis Jackson, worked with white officials for peaceful integration in Orlando to avoid incidents of racial violence that were occurring in other Florida cities.[35] Rev. Pinder organized the church's Liberal Religious Youth group.[36][37] Rev. Pinder's youth group protests were often joined by local members of the Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[22][37] Each night, activist members of the youth groups quietly stood-in near the Beacham's ticket booth until the theater stopped selling tickets.[36][37] On May 24, 1962, white supremacists were also picketing the Beacham at the same time as the Liberal Religious Youth group.[37] Orlando police arrested eight teen protestors. The teens were kept in so-called protective custody and were later released to their parents.[22][37] Following agreements with a biracial committee from Orlando Mayor Bob Carr's office, of which Rev. Pinder was a member, the Beacham Theatre quietly began allowing a limited number of African-American patrons into the balcony for designated showings in 1963.[36][37] The theater remained racially segregated for African-American patrons until 1965.[38]

In 1964 the theater was temporarily closed down while Cinerama equipment was installed. A super-wide anamorphic movie screen was added to the auditorium and the stereophonic sound system was upgraded. Two Norelco Universal 70/35mm Motion Picture Projectors and a small restroom for the projectionist were installed in a newly built downstairs projection booth under the balcony that required the removal of two aisles and several seats. Following the Beacham's upgrade to 70 mm film technology, The Sound of Music had a continuous 14-month run between 1965 and 1966.[9][13][15]

Orlando's Chamber of Commerce held open forum meetings at the Beacham Theatre on Sundays during the winter months of 1971–1973 under the direction of W. F. Blackman.[22]

End of the first-run movie era edit

 
1990s logo depicting the Beacham Theatre's mid-century marquee.

During the 1970s Orlando, like many U.S. cites, was experiencing symptoms of urban decay. The rush from the city to the suburbs affected nearly all of the city's businesses. As an effect of the exodus, each of Downtown Orlando's movie theaters closed.[4][9] Dick Gabel and John Prine were serving as projectionists at several of the theaters.[38] Following a decline in attendance, by 1974 the Beacham Theatre and Florida State Theaters in general were primarily showing exploitation films and B-movie action films.[13] The next year, H. A. Tedder, who was the Orlando executive manager at long-time lessee Florida State Theaters, made the decision that The Beacham Theatre would cease operating as a first-run movie cinema.[13] After showing a Sunday double-feature of Return of the Street Fighter, and The Scavengers, the Beacham Theatre's manager, McKinley Howard, closed the theater's doors as a first-run film cinema for the last time on September 28, 1975.[39] Florida State Theaters remained responsible for paying the monthly lease of $2700 until the theater was sold.[13]

Live Entertainment era edit

In 1975 Larry and Sherry Carpenter purchased the Beacham Building from then-owners, Betty Rubles Bray, and Burkett H. Bray Jr. A great-granddaughter of Braxton Beacham, Mrs. Bray, refused to sell the theater by itself without also selling the rest of the building as a package.[11] An extensive $250,000 remodeling and restoration followed that included multi-colored Art Deco revival style graphics painted over the facade and a large multi-story mural of a saxophone and its open case painted on the rear of the theater that faced west and was clearly visible from nearby Interstate 4. Following the restoration the Carpenters opened Orlando's franchise location of The Great Southern Music Hall at the Beacham in 1976.[15] The 700-seat Great Southern Music Hall was a concert venue that hosted approximately 180 prominent national and regional acts at the Beacham. The Great Southern Music Hall was occasionally still used as a movie theater that presented world cinema and classic Hollywood films by film directors such as John Carpenter, Federico Fellini, and Mel Brooks during the week. John Lawson was the acting projectionist and served as stage director for concerts. As The Great Southern Music Hall, only about seven music shows were unprofitable. Nevertheless, Orlando's Great Southern Music Hall closed in 1981 due to the rising costs of hosting concerts for notable musical acts and competition from larger venues.[5][11][13]

Roberta Branch Beacham died in 1980.

 
Mural on Beacham Theater in 1983

In 1981 Sherry Carpenter, then sole owner, leased the theater to Jeff Roberts. Roberts opened Laser World, a futuristic one- and one-half-hour laser light show that featured lasers, sound, ballet, costumed modern dance routines and magic illusion, as well as outer space photographs that were projected onto a large viewing screen from behind.[13][14] Laser World closed in 1982.[15] Other short-lasting entities followed.

The Orlando Sentinel critic Howard Means, reminded readers, that the 1965 installation of "then-new Cinerama equipment at the Beacham was the latest testimony to the faith in the future of Downtown Orlando" and that, "The Beacham had long been seen as a bellwether of the health of the center city." Upon further reflection, he lamented, "that the Beacham is simply a microcosm of modern downtown realities." Means editorialized, by 1982 "The present state of the Beacham was the latest testament to decay," and, "In the way of dying enterprises, the Beacham's reincarnations became increasingly more short-lived."[15]

In February 1983 Oscar F. Juarez, an Orlando property developer and Republican Party strategist, purchased the building for $1.5 million.[40] Soon after the purchase, a plan was announced to lease it to open a bar and French restaurant "with a Georgetown flair" that later became Valentyne's Restaurant as well as a new nightclub inside the theater.[11]

A vision for the theater announced in 1983 was for a New York-style nightclub dubbed Studio 46 that emulated the spirit of Studio 54.[11] Studio 46 did not come to fruition but the primordial description of Orlando's very own "Studio 54" at the Beacham Theater was soon realized a few years later.[41]

The theater was next leased by Ellen Hunt, of Orlando, and Roger Lopez, of France in August 1983. Hunt and Lopez opened a cabaret club in the theater named Moulin Orange that featured Las Vegas-style showgirls.[42] Moulin Orange was only open for several months during 1983 and 1984.[14]

In December 1984 with the hope of operating an expansion to his dinner theater franchise, a five-year lease of the theater was granted to Theatre Management Corporation of Orlando consisting of actor Tom McKinney and Rick Allen, a producer of the Reynolds Theater.[14] The Beacham served as a Celebrity Dinner Theater franchise location in conjunction with Valentyne's restaurant that was next door from 1985 until 1986.[42][43] Under new management, Valentyne's Celebrity Dinner Theater briefly reopened in 1986 before the dinner theater venture at the Beacham finally ended entirely early in 1987.[2][14]

The Beacham Theatre was granted local historic landmark status on September 21, 1987, for its historical significance to the community.[2] Between each new identity for the theater and the occasional concert, the Beacham Theatre sat unoccupied and empty.[43]

 
"Square columns and feathered capitals climb gracefully to intricate plasterwork" in 1991.[1]

Despite the new recognition for the theater by the City of Orlando, Mr. Juarez saw the building as a liability with many pleasant memories surrounding it, but with little economic potential. Citing maintaining the building and rehabilitation of the area, he first announced plans to raze the building for an unspecified mix-use purpose and later to redevelop the former Beacham Block with a new skyscraper that would be used as a combination office building and hotel.[44][45] In 1988 Juarez received two successive approval Certificate of Appropriateness permits from the City of Orlando Board of Historic Preservation to demolish the Beacham Theatre within 180 days.[5] The "Bye-bye Beacham Bash" was promptly organized by Orlando Remembered and attended by former theater doormen, ushers, candy girls, and cashiers on December 9, 1988.[18] However, Mr. Juarez's redevelopment plan and the new construction of a 20-story office building and parking garage fell through at the last moment due to poor timing. Additional parking could have contributed to a revitalized downtown area, but the market for office space in Downtown Orlando was nearly saturated in the late 1980s and there was a general lack of interest from prospective future tenants. Had the project materialized, Mr. Juaraz would have been required to reconstruct a replica of the original Beacham Theatre facade using original building materials of brick, stucco, decorative tile, and pastel colors.[5][40]

 
Beacham Theatre facade in March 1991

In 1987 Brad Belletto and then-wife Lisa moved to Orlando from Louisiana. Brad Belletto, then owned a theatrical equipment manufacturing company and had formerly owned Moon Sound, a New Orleans sound and lighting company. The Bellettos, intent on overhauling the music scene in Orlando, were looking for a new venue following operation of a successful club in Baton Rouge. They found the Beacham Theatre and immediately fell in love with it.[46] At that time, the Beacham was being subleased to Clark J, a local record producer, and a brief partnership was formed.

Late in 1988 the lease for the Beacham's theater was secured by the Bellettos under Entertainment Investments International.[18][47] Several of Lisa's cousins relocated to Orlando to help out with the task of preparing the Beacham for its opening and Brad's mother Bev tended the bar through the entire duration of the lease. The Bellettos also hosted an annual full-service Christmas dinner for hundreds of the city's homeless population at the Beacham Theatre with food donated by Orlando's high-end restaurants and businesses.[47]

The Bellettos planned to use the Beacham Theatre for theatrical performances and concerts during the week and as a nightclub on the weekends.[18][46] Frank Carroll, served as the managing artistic director for theatre productions and starred in a Las Vegas-style musical revue tribute to Liberace, Viva Liberace, Viva. A "Leonard Bernstein opera" and "an Edward Albee drama" were additional production features before theatrical productions ceased.[43]

Concerts were coordinated by Mary Ann D'Arpino of Mary Ann Productions, who had an office at the Beacham; Island Productions; Harry Tiyler of Fat Harry Productions, and Cellar Door Productions. Several prominent musical act concerts of nearly every genre were staged during this time.[1][4][11][48]

Night Club era edit

Since 1988 the theater has been used as a series of combination nightclub and concert venue enterprises.[46]

In May 1989 the Beacham Theatre was sold by Oscar Juarez for $1.8 million to a property management firm owned by Longwood businesswoman Missy Casscells and her husband Frank Hamby.[49]

Late Night era: (1988–1994) Aahz edit

Brad and Lisa Belletto with other Beacham DJs scoured sources across the U.S. and Europe and traveled frequently for new and rare records.[50] During the Second Summer of Love in the United Kingdom that began in 1988, on Friday and Saturday nights the Beacham Theater housed a discotheque that had a progressive dance music format with Lisa Belletto as resident DJ and lighting control operator and Brad Belletto as operating director.[48] Initially the club was to be called "F/X (or Effects)"[48] but it opened as "Pure NRG (or Energy)."[46]

The late nights at the Beacham featured DJs, beat matching, rare and obscure dance music on vinyl records, intelligent lighting, and themed decor that at times included original paintings by local artist Rollo. The popularity of dancing throughout the night at the Beacham Theatre initially caught on slowly and many free passes were given out. Soon, the entry queue for "Late Night" snaked around the block. The transition from handyman special to underground hotspot was attributed to the Belleto's planning, dedication, and vision.[46]

The conceptual themes for "Late Night" were frequently alternated (sometimes weekly) and occasionally repeated. The various themes subsequently included World War III, Aahz, Trancentral, The Haunted Theatre, Egypt, Alphabet City, Psychedelic Babylon, Unity, and Reunion. The all-night dance parties were eventually referred to using the umbrella term "'Late Night' at the Classic Beacham Theatre."[51][52]

The Aahz nightclub concept was born after Lisa saw the name at a shop in Los Angeles. The Bellettos and Shayni Howen then created and developed the Aahz concept for the Beacham. Shayni and her team created Aahz's iconic décor which included a painted yellow brick road and a giant paper mache Wizard of Oz head behind the stage.[50] At midnight each night, DJ Lisa typically played Rhythm Device's Acid Rock, at which point the stage's curtain was raised and the glowing eyes and smoking mouth of the Wizard were revealed.[citation needed]

Eventually the combined tasks of simultaneously playing all of the music and operating the lights became overwhelming for Lisa and as a result Shayni's sister, "Late night" veteran Stacey "StaceBass" Howen, was brought in to operate the computerized lighting control console and promote the nightclub. By the Summer of 1989, Lisa was expecting her first child and still resident DJ. Only two months before the birth of her son she invited Kimball Collins, who was the DJ in the Beacham Buildings northern unit, to replace her and hired him as Aahz's resident Late Night DJ. Joseph Jilbert (DJ Jo-Edd), Steve McClure (DJ Monk) and Paul Campbell (DJ Stylus) had brief stints as DJ at "Late Night" when they were hired to fill in for Lisa or Kimball Collins. Dave Cannalte was quickly brought in as "Late Night's" co-resident DJ.[52]

At this point, Underground music such as Industrial dance music and Gothic rock was played during Orlando's normal bar operating hours from 10 p.m. until just after 2 am. Upon an announcement at around 2:30 a.m. (or an opening at 3 am.[53]) that said simply, "Welcome to Late Night[54]," mixed New Beat, Progressive dance, Balearic beat, and Acid house electronic dance music began that frequently lasted until 8 a.m. and occasionally lasted until as late as 11 am.[55]

Local DJ's Jerry Johnson (the Reverend), Andy Hughes, Jay Skinner, Robby Clark, Troy Davis, Eddie Pappa (DJ Icey) and DJ Lisa Belletto were occasional guests for special events such as the "DJ Unity for the World" dance party in December 1991.[56]

 
1991 Return of AAHZ flyer

Dave Cannalte and Kimball Collins, and Stace presided over and further developed an ever-growing local scene. Chris Fortier later joined the duo of Kimball and Dave Cannalte as an Aahz resident DJ.[57] As it evolved, "Late Night" boosted the careers of numerous DJs and producers such as Andy Hughes, Jimmy Van M, AK1200, DJ Icey, DJ Baby Anne, Sean Cusick, and Cosmic Baby, as well as Dave Seaman, Sasha and John Digweed.[52][53][55][57][58][50][59][60][61][62][63][64]

The use of psychedelic drugs such as ecstasy and LSD at the Beacham Theatre during the late 1980s and early 1990s was prevalent and eventually began to attract the attention of law enforcement agencies. After "warnings" about increased surveillance of the Beacham that allegedly came from the Drug Enforcement Administration, additional security, pat-downs, new restrictions on reentering, attire, and the behavior for patrons were implemented. Once, during the early 1990s, "Late Night" was raided by masked agents of the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation who temporarily stopped the music and turned on the lights while they searched for and detained a suspect.[citation needed]

The final all-night Aahz-themed events (The Return of Aahz) were held at the Beacham between September 7, 1991, and July 4, 1992, and lasted until Dekko's opened. However, "Aahz" was the theme that really stuck with patrons and among participants is still used as a nickname for "Late Night" reunion tour events and even for the Beacham Theatre itself.[50] "Lift" night soon commenced in the Beacham Building's north-most unit, then called Barbarella's. The Beacham Building's north-most corner unit was once called Beach Club where Kimball Collins was resident DJ in the mid-1980s.[63] "Late Night" in the Beacham Theatre returned when Unity presented "Welcome (Back) to Late Night" on October 30, 1993. "Late Night's" Reunion at the Beacham was then initiated at Dekko's.[65]

 
1992 Death of AAHZ flyer

Cultural impact edit

The early mornings at the Beacham Theatre kick started Orlando's own Summer of Love between 1991 and 1992 that helped usher in the increased popularity of the subculture surrounding electronic dance music in Florida and subsequently in the United States.[51][50] "Late Night" organized several music festivals that were held at the Orange County Convention Center such as the "Infonet" DJ spinoff on October 24, 1992, the "Infonet 2" dance party on December 31, 1992, and "Infonet 3," "The Underground Explosion," on July 3, 1993. Subsequent large-event promoters failed to emulate the spirit of those events.[50] Although, "raves" per se were not held in the Theater, the Beacham served as the prototype for nearly all of the larger so-called rave-oriented nightclubs that followed it.[55][66][67] In doing so, "Late Night" at the Beacham Theatre inspired the genesis of the internationally recognized "Orlando Sound" genre that is also known as Florida breaks.[41][57][58][62][68][7][69][70][71][72][73]

External media
"'Late Night' at the Beacham Theatre"
Audio and Video: DJ sets and music from "Late Night"
  20-year Aahz Reunion (2009)
Audio
  "Trancentral" live sets with DJ Jo-Ed and DJ RPM (1989) via WaxDJ.com
  Kimball Collins "Late Night" live set at Beacham (Jan. 9, 1991) via Soundcloud
  Kimball Collins and Sasha (first U.S. visit) at Beacham (August 1992) YouTube audio
  AAHZ (Official) Reunion performances of the music from "Late night" on SoundCloud
Video
  Dave Cannalte at Aahz Unity IV special event (Dec. 7, 1991) YouTube video
  Dave Cannalte at Aahz Unity IV special event (Dec. 7, 1991) Pt. II YouTube video
  "Renaissance Reunion" feat. Sasha at the Beacham Theatre (1994) YouTube video
  Clubbers leaving after patron collapsed (1994) YouTube video

End of the Late Night and Live Entertainment eras edit

Inside "Late Night" at the Beacham was always very dark and the auditorium was absolutely filthy. In contrast, initially the scene's "vibe" was pure and drugs such as MDMA that were available were relatively unadulterated. As time went on, the beloved Beacham was beautified and remodeled into Dekko's. While the Beacham itself was cleaned up, the overall "vibe" of Orlando's scene seemed to darken somewhat just as the quality of club drugs that were still available during that time became tainted.[50]

During the summer of 1994, at a "Late Night" event featuring a guest appearance DJ Sasha, two female revelers who were attending a Reunion event at the Beacham Theatre collapsed just before sunrise.[50] The women were carried outside to Orange Avenue in front of Dekko's where CPR was administered by an Orlando Police Department officer and paramedics were dispatched. Tragically, one of the young women expired. The Orlando Sentinel reported the May 1, 1994, passing of 20-year-old Teresa Schwartz and that the other young woman was briefly in critical condition.[74][75][76][77][78][65] However, she promptly recovered. Substance abuse, related cardiac arrhythmia, or hyperthermia was the suspected cause of death.

The incident along with those at other venues in Orlando, shocked the underground dance club scene in Central Florida and were followed by a dramatic decrease in attendance. "Late Night's" organizers made the responsible decision to end Reunion at Dekko's after their pleas for young club-goers to practice moderation were ignored. The Dekko's concept was sold to a competitor in the following months.[5][50][65]

 
2016 AAHZ Reunion

On Saturday nights during 1995 "Late Night" briefly resumed in The Club at Firestone with DJ Robby Clark Kimball Collins, Dave Cannalte, StaceBass and friends.[55] However, the City of Orlando subsequently created a "Rave Review Task Force" in 1997[79][80] and later passed a local ordinance[81] that contributed to Florida's crackdown on after-hours nightclubs.[55][50][65] Central Florida's crackdown led to the eventual passage of an "anti-rave" law in Florida that ultimately led to the signing of national Anti-Rave legislation.[77]

The Aahz Reunion Tour launched in 1998 and as of 2019, reunions of Aahz "Late Night" occur nearly biannually and are frequently held in the Beacham Theatre.[55][50][62] "Late Night" reunions, however, now end promptly before 2:30 a.m.

Night Club exclusive use era edit

By 1992 the future looked brighter for the Beacham Theatre when Mike Berry, staff writer, for The Orlando Sentinel wrote that, "The Beacham Theatre is the latest testament to reincarnation." Concerts were no longer being held in the auditorium during this time period and the Beacham Theatre was used exclusively as night club through 2010.

It was 1992 when Orlando Attorney Mark NeJame leased the Beacham Theatre with the option to match the purchase price of any prospective buyers.[4] The Beacham underwent restoration at a cost of in excess of $1,000,000. NeJame then opened "Dekko's," a mainstream "high-energy dance club." "Dekko's" is an amalgam of Deco and Gekko. The "Dekko's" concept featured a rose-beige exterior with a newly restored Art Deco inspired facade with red neon lighting. Dekko's interior included extensive use of the color purple and a sushi bar in the balcony. The inclusion of a terrarium (vivarium) with live subtropical geckos was planned.[4] "Dekko's" was open from late 1992 until the "high-energy dance club" concept was bought out in 1994 by Bill Harmening who operated The Edge, a competing nightclub.[5][50]

"Zuma Beach Club" followed Dekko's and opened in 1994.[5][82] The recently remodeled auditorium was gutted for the change. Redecoration was complete with fishing nets, galvanized watering troughs for beer, and warning signs for sharks. On February 22, 1995, NeJame entered a new partnership with George Maltezos, John SanFelippo and brother, Joseph SanFelippo. Zuma Beach was often described by NeJame as "the cheesiest club in America." Rolling Stone in 1997 described Zuma Beach as a "cheesy dive."[72] Zuma Beach even hosted an Extreme Championship Wrestling "hardcore" professional wrestling match on January 29, 2000.[83] Mercifully, "Zuma Beach" closed its doors in late 2000.[84]

Finally, after yet another remodeling of the auditorium, "Tabu opened in 2001." Initially, Tabu was more of an upscale nightclub. Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough, who performed his first musical at the Beacham as one of the Munchkins in the Lollipop Guild for a theatre production of The Wizard of Oz, was a design and talent acquisition advisor for Tabu.[84] However, Tabu later became more mainstream. Tabu had a weekly lineup presentation that with the exception of hosting live music, was similar to the theater's current nightclub iteration.[85] Tabu closed in late 2010 when Mark NeJame and Joseph SanFelippo left the partnership.

Return of Live Entertainment edit

 
Beacham logo

In 2011 leases for the Beacham Theatre were renewed by John SanFelippo and George Maltezos, along with Gerard Mitchell and Michael McRaney, who leased the adjacent unit. Their partnership is named 46/54 North Orange Ave, LLC, and both units are leased from building owners Margaret Casscells and Frank Hamby, of Beacham Theater, LLC.

 

Since 2011 "The Beacham" nightclub has operated in partnership with "The Social," a smaller venue next door at 54 North Orange Avenue. The venues are connected via a passage and door. The Beacham features disc jockey entertainment and plays Hip hop, Top 40, Latin music, and Reggaeton."[85]

The Live Entertainment era currently continues on stages at both The Beacham and partner The Social. Prominent national and international musical acts perform with fidelity to the countless shows by numerous acts that have previously held performances in the Beacham Theatre from the mid-1970s through the early-1990s.

Description edit

Beacham's Building is divided into seven rental units using wood frame, brick walls, different facades, and paint. The theater is the south-most unit. The two-story Beacham Theatre was constructed in 1921 in a simple 20th Century Commercial Style. The structure is constructed of reinforced concrete and brick with stucco out-surface. Use of wood in the construction was minimized.[19]

Historical edit

The facade was decorated with multi-colored tile trim and impregnated with seashell. The first story originally contained two small storefronts, a boxoffice, and lobby entrance to the theater as well the auditorium, stage, dressing rooms, staff restrooms, and a green room. The second story of the theater contained restrooms, windowed offices, a projection booth, and balcony seating section as well as additional dressing rooms accessible by a spiral staircase.[12] Above the stage was the fly system and catwalk.

Modifications edit

In 1936 Art Deco styling with Mediterranean-style tile was added to the facade and extensive neon lighting was installed the on the entrance overhang.[5][12] Inside, the theater was modernized to provide lighted stairs, air conditioning into the dressing rooms, an enlarged auditorium, and improved seating. Capacity was reduced to 1,051.[13] To diminish echoes from the projectors and recorded sound equipment, the auditorium was carpeted with a floral pattern and the plaster walls were covered with an Ozite material.[28] Vernon Hunter oversaw the modernization.[12]

 
Beacham Theatre upstairs offices in March 1991.

In 1954 the look of the theater was modernized once again with the removal of parapets, cornices, and windows. The marquee was replaced with a new porcelain one. The lobby was enclosed with glass doors and the boxoffice was moved to the right side of the lobby exterior and rebuilt. An entirely new stucco sheeting was installed over the facade, a wide screen was installed, and new decorations and push-back seats were added with additional alterations to the floor plan and seating areas. Capacity was reduced to 650.[5][12][13][33]

In 1964 the proscenium was modified to accommodate the installation of Cinerama widescreen.[13] A new projection room was constructed under the balcony to accommodate 70-mm projectors.

By 1975 the theater was no longer being used as a feature cinema. For the 1976 opening of the Great Southern Music Hall, the theater's interior and stage were remodeled, the proscenium was rebuilt, balcony seating was added. The facade was repainted with Art Deco graphics and a large mural was painted on the back of the theater. Capacity was increased to 765.[5][13]

 
The balcony was remodeled in March 1991 revealing the theater's original 35 mm film projection port.

The balcony was extended in 1981.

In 1984 the theater cinema's 765 seats were removed and sold and the sloped auditorium floor was terraced.[11] Buffet dinner tables for 400 and balcony tables for 100 were added. The backstage area was remodeled, and the balcony was restored back to its original shape. Exterior drainage was improved.

The degraded ceiling plasterwork was repaired and repainted, the roof was replaced and wiring were upgraded in 1988.[18][43] External air conditioning was being pumped in.

By 1991 the balcony was renovated and re-extended and the 70 mm film projection room under the balcony had been removed and the air conditioning repaired. Opera boxes were installed on the second floor of either side of the stage and the DJ booth was relocated shortly thereafter.

 
Facade restoration proposal for the Beacham Theatre

As the Beacham was renovated to become Dekkos's in 1992, it was discovered that the stucco sheeting that was installed during a modernization in 1954 could not be economically removed without severely damaging the original facade underneath. Restoration plans for the facade had to be modified.[5] An arched molding was then added to the facade. A sunburst and red neon lighting was subsequently added.

Following an effort to "bring back the aesthetics of the old Beacham Theatre," in 2000 owners restored the Beacham's ornate plaster ceiling moldings, facade, and marquee. In addition, the sloping theater floor was made level and the stage was elevated. The original Beacham Theatre sign is awaiting restoration and is being stored on the roof.[84]

Around 2005, the facade was modified by removing a small semi-circular molding in front of the sunburst. The points of the sunburst were also removed leaving a large semi-circular molding and larger arch above it decorating the facade.

 
Beacham Theatre's facade was in poor condition between 2014 and 2016.

Recent Changes edit

The balcony and upstairs areas were remodeled in 2011 with a beautifully painted ceiling and the addition of two chandeliers. Restrooms were installed in place of the theater's original office area and 35 mm film projection booth.

During the summer months of 2016 the crumbling arched molding was removed from the facade. The facade was then repaired and repainted and new red and blue neon lighting was installed. As of 2019, the theater's ornate plaster ceilings are in a state of disrepair with the decorative ceiling concealed behind a black cloth barrier that can retain any pieces of plaster that might fall.[citation needed] Two skyboxes were added in 2019. Further restoration in the near future is in a discussion and planning stage.

In October 2019 Orlando's Historic Preservation Board approved a major makeover for the entire Beacham block was announced. The construction effort is planned to last one year with a completion date near the centennial anniversary of the building. The theaters facade will be reconstructed with styling elements from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.[86][87]

Notable performances edit

Vaudeville acts that have performed at the Beacham Theatre include the Ziegfeld Follies, John Philip Sousa, W.C. Fields, Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue, Frieda Hempel, Theda Bara, Irving Caesar's The Greenwich Village Follies of 1922, organist "Professor" Herman Siewert, Keith's Vaudeville Company, ventriloquist Marshall Montgomery, Flo Ziegfeld's Sally, Gertrude Hoffmann Dancers, Artists and Models Super Revue of 1924, The Cloverleaf Dancers, The Elks Minstrels, "Fay, Lane, & Barry;" "Fay Two Colleys;" and gymnasts The Kramer Brothers.[9]

Blues and Jazz musicians including Ray Charles, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Sansone, Delbert McClinton, Leon Russell, Edgar Winter, Leo Kottke, Roy Buchanan, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Cobham, Gato Barbieri, Ramsey Lewis, Freddie Hubbard, and Diane Schuur have performed at the Beacham Theatre.[88]

Classic rock era acts such as The Police, The Pretenders, Rick Derringer, Pat Travers Band, Al Stewart, Dickey Betts, Head East, Sea Level, Utopia, Horslips, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dave Brubeck, Todd Rundgren, Bill Warheit, Michael Hedges, Earl Scruggs, José Feliciano, Lyle Lovett, Root Boy Slim, Stray Cats,[89] The Damned,[89] and the Ramones have performed at the Beacham.[88]

Metal acts such as Judas Priest, Slayer, Gwar, Dark Angel, 7 seconds, Overkill, and Wolfsbane, and Death Angel have appeared at the Beacham.[88] Orlando Death metal band Death filmed their music video for "Lack of Comprehension" at the Beacham Theatre.[citation needed]

Reggae acts Pato Banton,[90] Toots Hibbert and The Maytals,[91] Inner Circle, The Wailers,[92] Aswad,[93] and Yellowman[94] have also performed.

In more recent years Ministry, KMFDM, Fugazi, Revolting Cocks, Devo, Book of Love, Go Radio, Tori Amos, Soundgarden, The Pixies, Good Charlotte, Pink, Lush, David Byrne, Fishbone, The Cramps, Flat Duo Jets, L.A. Guns, G. Love & Special Sauce, and The Claypool Lennon Delirium as well as notable DJ acts Razor and Guido, Carl Cox, Sasha, John Digweed, Dave Seaman and Dynamix II and many others have played at the Beacham.[95]

The Beacham website offers the following synopsis:[96]

Downtown's notorious venue has entertained Orlando for almost 100 years, with a diverse history from vaudeville, to cinema and epic concert events. This building has encountered countless celebrities and their greatest projects. In the last four decades, various superstars have graced this Orange Avenue venue's mammoth stage including but not limited to 50 Cent, Lauryn Hill, Ice Cube, 2 Chainz, Wale, Trina, Juvenile, French Montana, Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Waka Flocka Flame, J. Cole, Trick Daddy, DJ Khaled, and Flo Rida. Dance music's innovative DJs The Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, Benny Benassi, Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Afrojack, and David Guetta have also called this historic location home.

Professional wrestlers Rob Van Dam, Masato Tanaka, Rhyno, Super Crazy, The Dupps, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Tommy Dreamer, and Simon Diamond had a match in the Beacham Theatre.[83]

See also edit

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Dezern, Craig (February 28, 1988). "Conflict Now Playing At Beacham Owner: Destroy It – Activists: Save It". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 11, 2016. But when preservationists look, they see a landmark. Square columns adorned with feathered capitals climb gracefully to a high ceiling decorated with rectangles of intricate plasterwork. An orchestra pit and the gentle slope of the auditorium floor wait, covered by modern alterations. The debate between progress and preservation has played in old theaters throughout the South, and sometimes preservation has won. But for every theater saved, two more meet the wrecking ball. The Beacham soon may join the fallen theaters. Juarez, a developer and political consultant, has applied for permission to tear down the building at 46 N. Orange Ave., and the Beacham lacks key elements that saved movie palaces in Tampa, Atlanta and Lakeland. Impressive architecture is one of those elements.
  2. ^ a b c Blumenstyk, Goldie (February 10, 1988). "Beacham: The End Or A Full New Show?". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Wilkening, David (February 1988). "Can they save the Beacham?". Orlando Magazine – via City of Orlando Historic Preservation, Beacham File.
  4. ^ a b c d e Berry, Mike (October 14, 1992). "Another facade may soon grace historic Beacham: Beacham may get a Face Lift". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Beacham Theatre," City of Orlando, Historic Preservation Board
  6. ^ Benson, Richard (May 1994). "Renaissance men". The Face. 2 (68): 74–79.
  7. ^ a b Ferguson, Jason; Le-Huu, Bao (July 2, 2013). "Dance dance revolution". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved July 28, 2016. The 1990s was formative in the electronic dance music awakening of America, and that fire-catching cultural momentum would vault Orlando to the vanguard of it all. As one of the premier global epicenters of the rave big bang, the city found itself on equal footing with not just New York or Los Angeles but also with the trailblazing U.K. scene (English breaks DJ-producer Nick Newton named his 1996 record Orlando), even siring its own sound (Florida breaks).
  8. ^ "With "News" Correspondents (Florida)". Motion Picture News. New York: Motion Picture News, Inc. May–June 1921. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Act Two: A Beacham History. 1985. Celebrity Dinner Theater.
  10. ^ a b Stephanie Gaub Antequino; Tana Mosier Porter; Historical Society of Central Florida (2012). Lost Orlando. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-9173-5.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Schaal Hinson, Sandra (February 1983). "A mover behind shakers". Orlando Magazine. Orlando: Orlando Magazine.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Ives, Sidney (December 23, 1953). "Beacham Has Come Long Way: Lillian Gish to Queen Esther". The Orlando Evening Star.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sweers, Katheryn (July 12, 1981). "Curtain rises on new act for Beacham". The Orlando Sentinel.
  14. ^ a b c d e Andrews, Mark (January 28, 1996). "Early Entertainment Venues Evolved From Opera House To Movie Theaters". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 21, 2016. ...the former site of the county jail where hangings once were conducted – and built the Beacham Theater...Air conditioning was installed in the '30s...It later was home to Laser World; then to Moulin Orange, a Las Vegas-style cabaret that lasted four months in 1983–84; and then to Valentyne's Celebrity Dinner Theatre, which opened in 1987.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Means, Howard (October 17, 1982). "Requiem for the Beacham Theatre". The Orlando Sentinel.
  16. ^ a b Steve Rajtar (2006). A Guide to Historic Orlando. The History Press. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1-59629-198-0.
  17. ^ Wallace Dickinson, Joy (February 16, 2001). "A Jaunt Into Haunts". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 14, 2016. Gavin's tour includes tales of a sensational murder across the street from the Angebilt in the vanished San Juan Hotel and of a secret tunnel connecting the Angebilt to the old Beacham Theater (now the Tabu night spot at 46 N. Orange). Which brings us to the ghost stories. Ghosts, it seems, are especially attracted to theaters, and Gavin's tour includes mentions of apparitions both at the Beacham and in several other theatrical venues
  18. ^ a b c d e Hodges, Sam (December 6, 1988). "Beacham Does Its Bit For History 'Bye-bye Bash' A Benefit For Downtown Displays". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "New Beacham is one of Refinement and Elegance: Equipment of New Beacham Theater is the Finest that is Obtainable". The Evening Reporter-Star. Orlando. December 8, 1921.
  20. ^ Glover, C.A. (December 4, 1988). "1907: Beacham Elected Mayor". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  21. ^ Austin Organs Database, retrieved October 14, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Eve Bacon (1977). Orlando: A Centennial History. Mickler House.
  23. ^ Shrieves, Linda (February 10, 2007). "Take a walk into Florida's past". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 5, 2016. Behind the theater's backstage is a trap door to a tunnel that runs underneath Orange Avenue to the 11-story brick building that was once the grand Angebilt Hotel. The tunnel was built, he says, so that vaudeville stars appearing at the Beacham in the 1920s, '30s and '40s could slip back to the hotel after the show without being mobbed by fans.
  24. ^ "Digging into Orlando's Past: Is there a secret tunnel connecting the Beacham Theater and the old Angebilt Hotel?". orlandomagazine.com. Orlando Magazine. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2016. Another Orlando historian, Joy Wallace Dickinson, raises an intriguing possibility about the Beacham. Recently she toured some historic buildings in Tampa and learned that during renovation, crews came across subterranean spaces about 3 feet high that were used to hide booze during Prohibition.
  25. ^ "Hoofbeats Were Background To New Year's 1901". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. December 31, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  26. ^ What's What, Here and There as Recorded by "Bobby" (1925) magazine. Theatrical section via LMS, Orange County Public Library. Orlando.
  27. ^ "Motion Picture News (May–Jun 1925)"". mediahistoryproject.org. The Museum of Modern Art Library coordinated by the Media History Digital Library. May 2, 1925. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  28. ^ a b Robinson, Wendall (February 5, 1982). "Interview of Wendall O. Robinson (projectionist)" (Interview). Interviewed by B.T. Sherwood. Orlando.
  29. ^ "Retroactively Speaking". Downtown Orlando Monthly. November 1996 – via Theatre Historical Society of America.
  30. ^ Beacham Movie Line Up in September 1933 (April 18, 2013), retrieved February 9, 2017
  31. ^ . Orlando Memory. Orange County Library System. July 7, 2012. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016. ...promoting a movie created about daily life in Orlando called The Orlando Story. ... The film was shown for three days – August 11, 12, and 13 at ... the Beacham...These scenes were shot by Don Parrisher Motion Picture Productions, of New York, some months ago; now you can see them on the Beacham and Roxy screens.
  32. ^ Weber III, Theodore H. (December 25, 1994). "Oh Little Town...". Florida Magazine. Orlando: Florida magazine via Rollins College, Olin Library.
  33. ^ a b "Impressive new Facade for Florida Theatre". boxoffice.com. Boxoffice Magazine. January 9, 1954. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  34. ^ Coate, Michael (September 16, 2013). "Looking back at CinemaScope: The Original Engagements of The Robe". film-tech.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  35. ^ Kunerth, Jeff (January 8, 2010). "Episcopal diocese honors Nelson Pinder for 50 years in ministry". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  36. ^ a b c Mosier Porter, Tana (Winter 2004). "Segregation and Desegregation in Parramore: Orlando's African American Community" (PDF). The Florida Historical Quarterly. Volume 82, Number 3. The Florida Historical Society. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  37. ^ a b c d e f Kunerth, Jeff (February 22, 2009). "Teens spark Orlando's civil-rights era". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Some of the youths worked with the Rev. Nelson Pinder, a young Episcopalian minister of the streets. Others, such as those arrested in March 1962, were members of the NAACP Youth Council, a local chapter started in 1959...Two months after being released from jail, Poston was arrested again for trying to integrate the Beacham Theater in downtown Orlando. Joining a group of black kids, Poston stood in line for tickets, was refused, got back in line and continued the routine until the last ticket was sold. Their courteous protest drew the attention of young white segregationists who threatened the black teens. Orlando police arrived and arrested the eight black students for "disturbing the peace." Police later said the blacks were taken into protective custody to prevent violence against them. All were released because they were underage – except 18-year-old Sandra Poston, who called her mother from jail. "I thought, 'Here it goes again,' " her mother said. That charge and all the charges against the kids arrested at Stroud's were eventually dismissed...1963: Beacham Theater agrees to allow limited numbers of blacks at designated showings.
  38. ^ a b Jennings, Samuel (June 18, 2011). "Beacham Theater". cinematreasures.org. Cinema Treasures. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  39. ^ Last picture Show: Beacham. September 28, 1975.
  40. ^ a b Benedick, Robin (April 7, 1988). "Goodbye Voted For Beacham Board Says Owner May Tear Old Theater Down". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  41. ^ a b Abbott, Jim (June 27, 2013). "Make a return to AAHZ once more". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 5, 2016. Gazing upward at the high ceiling inside The Beacham, DJ Kimball Collins reflects on the role that the building itself had on the mystique of AAHZ, the progressive house-music parties that put Orlando on the international map as a hotbed of electronic music in the early 1990s..."We always wanted people to come experience it here," Collins says of the Beacham. "This is like our Studio 54; there's just something about this room." Between roughly 1989 and 1992, AAHZ blossomed into a weekly all-night Saturday dance party that attracted devoted fans who would travel from across the state to dance until daylight. "There's a scene in the movie '54,' when one of the characters walks into the club for the first time and everything just slows down and it's sensory overload,"... That philosophy yielded AAHZ, a concept eternally beloved by its fans and those who created it..."It still has some sort of energy in here for them," Collins says, looking around the room. "We feel it."
  42. ^ a b Hagstrom, Suzy (November 5, 1984). "Curtain Call for Old Beacham Theater". The Orlando Sentinel.
  43. ^ a b c d Maupin, Elizabeth (November 3, 1988). "Theater Revival At The Beacham Won't Last Long". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 10, 2016. The Beacham – which closed as a movie house in 1975 – has stood empty off and on for years, between incarnations as the Great Southern Music Hall, Celebrity Dinner Theater and a number of shorter-lived enterprises. As Celebrity Dinner Theater, the building was used from February 1985 to January 1986 and, under other management, again for the first several months of 1987. Since then it has been used occasionally for concerts but has fallen into disrepair.
  44. ^ Snyder, Jack (July 13, 1987). "Juarez Building Finally Fills Up Developer Considers Building Second Office Project". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  45. ^ Patrizio, Ron (August 23, 1987). "Historic Label No Guarantee Beacham Theater's Owner May Raze Old Downtown Building For New One". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 10, 2016. The Beacham Theater has served as a city hall, vaudeville playhouse and movie theater. In 1975, it closed as a movie theater and reopened a year later as the Great Southern Music Hall. It finally closed as the Celebrity Dinner Theater in January.
  46. ^ a b c d e Long Live The Beacham, Central Florida Magazine, February 1989, p.12.
  47. ^ a b Mathers, Sandra (December 22, 1991). "Theater Plans Holiday Treat For Homeless". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando. Retrieved October 13, 2016. The sit-down dinner is the brainchild of Brad and Lisa Belletto, whose Entertainment Investments company operates the theater and jazz club...Belletto said he patterned the dinner after a similar theater event he was involved with in New Orleans.
  48. ^ a b c Beacham Theatre Returns! 1988. Brad Belletto.
  49. ^ Jackson, Jerry (October 31, 1992). "State Files To Revoke Club's Liquor License". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 20, 2016. A Longwood businesswoman who owns the historic Beacham Theatre building in which the nightclub was located said she hopes to see some kind of similar club operation continue. "We want something in there that Orlando can be proud of," said Missy Casscells, a property manager who owns the Beacham building on Orange Avenue. Casscells, 32, said she has owned the Beacham building since May 1989. She said it was acquired from Oscar Juarez, a well-known Orlando businessman and Republican party activist, for about $1.8 million. Casscells said she and her husband, Frank Hamby, manage their family-owned property
  50. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kelemen, Matt (September 2, 1998). "Wizards of Aahz: The Florida winter had ju..." orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved November 30, 2015. Collins could not be aware of it at the time, but those Saturday nights – eventually known as "Aahz"-- would kick-start an underground culture and spawn countless DJ careers. Orlando would never be the same...By 1991–1992, Orlando experienced its own "summer of love" through the culture that sprang up around the weekend acid-house nights at the Beacham Theatre presided over by Collins and Dave Cannalte, and nurtured by Beacham promoter StaceBass...only New York, San Francisco and L.A. had similar scenes, and they were characterized by warehouse parties. Orlando had a headquarters in the heart of its downtown district...From then on the crowds would refer to the Beacham as "Aahz" no matter what the owners called it.
  51. ^ a b Moyer, Matthew (November 21, 2017). "Orlando lord of the dance Kimball Collins is serious about throwing a party". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved September 23, 2019. The last thing on DJ and Orlando dance music linchpin Kimball Collins' mind back during the fabled Orlando Summer of Love in the early 1990s was that he would someday be responsible for preserving the legacy of Florida Breaks...pull[ing] from the many different eras and incarnations of AAHZ (Pure NRG, World War III, Egypt)...Collins explains that this is...a celebration of an era when Orlando was ground zero for a new type of dance music, and a survey of how that music has changed over the years: "Florida, and Central Florida in particular, gravitated heavily to all types of genres that relied on a type of break-beat from electro, techno, freestyle, Miami bass to straight-up U.K. rave breaks. Those influences went on to develop what would soon become the signature 'Florida break-beat sound.' That explains [Orlando audiences'] love of breaks and why we...celebrat[e]...this style
  52. ^ a b c "Aahz '89 Quintessential New Beat w/ DJ Joe Ed Info". waxdj.com. WaxDJ. March 25, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2016. DJ Joe Ed was one of the founding fathers of Aahz (Orlando) with Stace-Bass and Steve McClure until he handed the reigns off to Dave Cannalte and Kimball Collins who made Aahz what we remember to this day! ... He was also the house DJ and co-founder with Stace-Bass of club "World War III" which he promoted on these recordings...Recorded on an average Friday Night at Beacham Theaters, Orlando – Aahz (Then known as "Transcentral")
  53. ^ a b Montes De Oca, Mark (May 5, 2008). . pandora.com. Pandora. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016. Digweed came to the United States through Orlando, FL and had this to say about that night, "It wasn't until 1993, when I did a big party in Orlando, that it kicked things off for Sasha and I. The kids there were really into it, whereas you could have gone to any other state and they wouldn't have got it." That party Digweed was speaking of took place at Aahz Nightclub in Orlando, Florida's Beacham Theater, a nightclub that was actually a functioning theater during its normal operating hours. However, at 3:00am on Saturday nights, Aahz would open its doors to the then hugely popular, and extremely underground, Rave scene of the early 1990s. Orlando was Florida's epicenter for the burgeoning scene at the time and Aahz nightclub was the undisputed king of that dance culture in the early to mid nineties. No other club in Florida's history can lay hold of the kind of acclaim that Aahz nightclub can. It's [sic] resident DJ, Kimball Collins, along with opener Dave Cannalte were a few of the undisputed heavyweights of the early nineties in Central Florida... it's Aahz that was most responsible for putting and keeping Florida on the map in regards to underground dance music culture in the early nineties...
  54. ^ "AK1200's True Dedication to Drum & Bass". Bassrush. August 11, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  55. ^ a b c d e f Milo, Christopher (January 23, 2017). "Ep. 030 – DJ Three. Burning Man Regular DJ Three Has Some Thoughts on the Rise of Playa Tech". Rave Curious Podcast: DJ Three (Interview). Interviewed by Joshua Glazer. New York: Thump. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  56. ^ Abbott, Jim (December 6, 1991). "Public Enemy To Play Orlando". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando. Retrieved October 12, 2016. Saturday, the Beacham Theatre will host DJ Unity for the World, a dance party featuring the talents of Central Florida club deejays Jerry the Reverend Johnson, Lisa Belletto, Andy Hughes, Jay Skinner, Robby Clark, Troy Davis, DJ Ice, the Dave Cannalte and Kimball Collins.
  57. ^ a b c . JIVE Magazine. July 26, 2005. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2016. Chris's long 15 year trajectory as a highly successful label and record pool owner, DJ, producer, and remixer has all influenced the impact of dance music in America. His roots can be traced to the early 1990s in Orlando, Florida, where he was spotted by DJ Icey and quickly heralded by Kimball Collins as resident at the Aahz nightclub. These nights served as a platform to bring Sasha and John Digweed to America for the first time, and establish the early "progressive" sound that would become synonymous with clubbers and DJs alike for years to come
  58. ^ a b Ferguson, Jason; Le-Huu, Bao (July 3, 2013). "The Places: The venues and club nights that propelled Orlando's EDM culture in the '90s". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved July 28, 2016. AAHZ: Unanimously cited as the mother of the movement, this seminal dance night at the Beacham Theater cultivated the late-night dance soil in the early '80s that made the massive '90s explosion possible. With an emphasis on the then-nascent European acid house sound, AAHZ vaulted the international DJ careers of residents Kimball Collins, Dave Cannalte and Chris Fortier. It also debuted stars like Sasha, Digweed, Cosmic Baby and Dave Seaman in Florida before closing in 1992.
  59. ^ Salzer, Rick (May 1, 1999). "Sasha, Digweed Stay Busy". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 18. New York: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Sasha and Digweed began crossing the Atlantic in order to DJ in clubs in the U.S. Their first stop was Aahz, a seminal club in Orlando, Fla.
  60. ^ Hutchinson, Kate (April 12, 2016). "Sasha: 'There were thousands of people in front of me and I was losing the plot'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 27, 2016. Sasha has always been embraced by the US. He started off there playing massive parties in Orlando...
  61. ^ Brewster, Bill; Broughton, Frank (July 26, 2005). . djhistory.com. DJ History. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016. Do you think with what you and John [Digweed] did in Twilo, you had a taste of that in inspiring America? Maybe. I think the scene was already really going, developing. I think probably what we did in Orlando a few years before, even though we didn't have a regular club there, but just the fact we were going to Orlando every two or three months and doing these massive parties there. I went out first and then a while later John came out and then the Chemical Brothers. We were some of the first ones to go out there and then it really opened up.
  62. ^ a b c "Aahz...An era of Electronic Music". Orlando.AllOut.com. Orlando.AllOut. January 24, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015. If you're from Hawaii "Ohana" means family, if you lived in Orlando in the 90s "AAHZ" meant and still means family. AAHZ was a late night event that was held at The Beacham nightclub back in the late 80s/early 90s. It was so much more than just a night at a club though. It was more of a family reunion every time you walked through the doors. This was in the era where PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) was still the main player at these sort of events. This was back in the day before distractions like cell phones and digital cameras were in everyone's hands and it was just you, the crowd, and the DJ. The time when music connected people in a way that very few will ever understand. People came from all over the state to attend the famed AAHZ events. This was a place where you could go and totally let loose without fear of judgment by others. People came to AAHZ for the music and the vibe. The way the DJ's were able to use their turntables to emotionally connect so many different people through their music could not be duplicated anywhere. They quite literally had the mood of the entire room in their hands behind the decks. People thrived off of this new underground culture that was being introduced to Orlando through these AAHZ events. AAHZ was in a league of its own in the Orlando club scene, hosting international talents like Sasha and John Digweed, but, little did anyone know what AAHZ would do for its resident DJ's Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalate. Both have become international superstars and a slew of other AAHZ regular customers like Andy Hughes and DJ Icey were not too far behind them. There is no doubt that AAHZ and its DJ's helped put Orlando on the map and in the forefront of the entire Electronic Dance Music movement across the United States. There really is no way to adequately convey the true meaning or raw emotion of what AAHZ was, or why so many people considered it to be "home." ... Unfortunately, AAHZ came to an end in 1992, and with that came the end of an era for the Orlando club scene and Orlando Electronic Dance Music as a whole. The days of AAHZ may never be able to be totally recreated as it once was, however, AAHZ holds their reunion in Downtown Orlando every year, where they make sure that old school vibe is still in full effect. People who were involved in it during its peak fly in from all around the country just to attend and reclaim their little piece of perfect that used to reside in the heart of Downtown Orlando.[dead link]
  63. ^ a b "Jimmy Van M". protonradio.com. Proton Radio. 2000. Retrieved September 2, 2016. Jimmy started mixing in early 1992. He started off by doing guest spots at The Beacham Theater for Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalte. After The Beacham closed, he took a 1½ year residency with Kimball at Barbarella's "Lift" night. The Beacham reopened for the Reunion Parties, he began doing guest spots there with DJ's like Sasha, John Digweed, and Dave Seaman. In mid 1994, The Beacham Theater had closed for good. Jimmy then started taking guest spots up and down the East Coast.
  64. ^ McCollum, Thaddeus (November 22, 2016). "AAHZ reunion celebrates Florida musical history with a night of bumping bass and breaks". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved November 23, 2016. But one era of our history that deserves to be acknowledged on a regular basis is that period of time back in the early '90s when our collective finger was on the pulse of the future of dance music. Predating the current trap and EDM boom by decades, the mix of Miami bass, hip-hop and house that came to be known as "Florida Breaks" was prescient, even if it all eventually imploded once concerned parents and politicians started to take notice. This week's AAHZ reunion hearkens back to those days with a lineup that looks like it's straight off of a flyer from 1993:
  65. ^ a b c d "A short history of Orlando's relationship with the club scene". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. December 30, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2016. 1988: According to a 1988 story in Orlando Weekly, DJ Kimball Collins discovers an acid-house night happening at the old Beacham Theater in Orlando and before long, he morphs it into AAHZ, the house-music dance party that attracts people from all over Florida and turns Orlando into an epicenter for club culture. 1992: AAHZ at the Beacham comes to an end, after struggling to compete with newer dance clubs, like the Abyss and Club Firestone. 1993: The Orange County Convention Center is home to a massive rave called Infinite, which would return to the venue for three consecutive years. 1993: DJ Kimball Collins introduces a new night called Reunion at a club called Dekko's. 1993: The Dust Brothers (later known as the Chemical Brothers) headline a massive rave at the Edge Nightclub in downtown Orlando, giving birth to an electronic dance music scene that would eventually sweep the nation. 1994: A female patron of a dance party called Reunion collapses and dies; Reunion is canceled for good three weeks later
  66. ^ Guinto, Liesl (August 1, 1993). "All The Rave". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 16, 2016. The Orlando rave scene can trace its roots back almost five years to the old Beacham Theatre in downtown Orlando, also known as Aahz. With an atmosphere all its own multilevel dance floor, theater set-up and hypnotizing light shows Aahz became such a monument to late-night raves that when it closed its doors last September (to make way for Dekkos), Orange Avenue was packed until late Sunday morning with loyal patrons paying tribute to their favorite dance house. Other clubs followed in the footsteps of Aahz, including The Edge in downtown Orlando, The Coliseum in Daytona Beach and Marz in Cocoa Beach.
  67. ^ Guida, Humberto (November 21, 2014). . insomniac.com. Insomniac. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016. The '90s was a formative time for American rave culture, as the scene was already booming in the UK. It found its way to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but it was in that Southeastern tourist trap known as Orlando, Florida, where American rave culture took off in a big way. AAHZ, a late-'80s mid-week party at the old Beacham Theater, served as the precursor to the Florida rave scene. But it was really the summer of 1993, at a club called the Edge, where a series of underground music events...
  68. ^ Gettelman, Parry (February 9, 1997). "The Orlando Sound Although Hard To Define, It's Hot Among Lovers Of Underground Dance Music". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 5, 2015. Orlando club kids first encountered the style in the late '80s at the old Beacham Theatre ... on Orange Avenue where DJs such as Kimball Collins, Dave Cannalte, Chris Fortier and Andy Hughes got their start at Aahz dance nights.
  69. ^ Le-Huu, Bao (November 28, 2015). "AAHZ respects the breaks that made Orlando global, overdue propers for DJ Stylus (The Beacham)". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved July 28, 2016. The AAHZ days, though absolutely foundational, were an elementary phase in the late '80s and early '90s that heavily featured European house sounds. But the breaks – a breakbeat subgenre braided of hip-hop, Miami bass and electro – was the Orlando sound, our original chapter and contribution to the EDM world. And when the breaks surged in the mid '90s, it was the Orlando dance scene at its apex, when we weren't just playing the leading sounds but making and exporting them.
  70. ^ Le-Huu, Bao (December 2, 2015). "This Little Underground: AAHZ honors Orlando's breaks legacy". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  71. ^ Romero, Dennis (June 13, 2016). "Before L.A., Orlando Was a Club Culture Capital". laweekly.com. L.A. Weekly. Retrieved June 17, 2016. But there was a time when a much smaller city dominated domestic EDM and influenced the global emergence of the DJ as a superstar performer. That place was Orlando, Florida...
  72. ^ a b Weir, John (1997). . Rolling Stone. No. 767. Orlando: Rolling Stone via AM Soul Records. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  73. ^ "Best Homage to Orlando's EDM Heritage AAHZ's "These Are the Breaks" event". orlandoweekly.com. The Orlando Weekly. August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2015. EDM is a major worldwide player in music again, but shockingly few realize that Orlando was both epicenter and forefront of the original American dance boom of the '90s. We were up there with the usual hotbeds like NYC, London, Chicago and LA with our legendary parties and clubs. But what really certifies us is that we weren't just an army of followers, but innovators with our own original sound that caught fire and inspired a whole generation of nu-skool breaks across the pond. And AAHZ's "These Are the Breaks" reunion party at the Beacham was a prime nostalgic capsule of that golden era.
  74. ^ "2 Women Fall Ill At Club In Orlando – 1 Is Dead". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. May 2, 1994. Retrieved August 8, 2016. A 20-year-old Melbourne woman died and an 18-year-old Lake Mary woman is in critical condition after both collapsed from what Orlando police think were drug overdoses at a downtown nightclub Sunday morning.
  75. ^ Leithauser, Tom (June 18, 1995). "Drugs: Facing Agony Of Ecstasy". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  76. ^ "Woman Dies Of Apparent Drug Overdose, Police Say". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. July 6, 1994. Retrieved July 29, 2016. In the earlier death, 20-year-old Teresa Schwartz of Melbourne collapsed May 1 outside of Dekko's Night Club on Orange Avenue downtown. Her purse contained canisters of nitrous oxide, a widely available anesthetic gas. The exact cause of Schwartz's death won't be known until laboratory tests are completed.
  77. ^ a b Simon Reynolds (June 19, 2013). Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge. pp. 315–. ISBN 978-1-136-78316-6.
  78. ^ Simon Reynolds (March 1, 2012). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Counterpoint LLC. ISBN 978-1-59376-477-7.[permanent dead link]
  79. ^ Sherri, Owens (April 4, 1997). "Task Force Tackles Drug Use In Nightclubs". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 5, 2016. At least two potential solutions to the drug problems at Orlando's all-night parties emerged Thursday at the first meeting of the city's Rave Review Task Force...Orlando has the biggest rave scene in Florida
  80. ^ Schneider, Mike (September 10, 1997). "All-Night Raves Banned By Orlando Ordinance – Attempt To Diminish Drug Use Leads To Restrictions On City's Bars And Nightclubs". seattletimes.nwsource.com. The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 5, 2016. On Monday, the Orlando City Council voted 5–2 to shut down the city's bars and nightclubs at 3 a.m.
  81. ^ Nelson, Chris (September 10, 1997). "Orlando, Fla. Cracks Down On All-Night Raves". MTV.com. MTV. Retrieved August 5, 2016. On Monday, the Orlando general assembly upheld the state bill to axe raves, after-hour dance parties, voting to force venues that serve alcohol to shut their doors at 3 a.m., one hour after last call.
  82. ^ "Early Entertainment Venues Evolved From Opera House To Movie Theaters". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. January 28, 1996. Retrieved August 21, 2016. ...the former site of the county jail where hangings once were conducted – and built the Beacham Theater...Air conditioning was installed in the '30s...It later was home to Laser World; then to Moulin Orange, a Las Vegas-style cabaret that lasted four months in 1983–84; and then to Valentyne's Celebrity Dinner Theatre, which opened in 1987.
  83. ^ a b "ECW hardcore wrestling". prowrestlinghistory.com. Pro Wrestiling History. January–March 2000. Retrieved November 22, 2016. January 29, 2000 in Orlando, FL; Zuma Beach Club drawing 800
  84. ^ a b c Emmons, M. F. (July 9, 2000). "Beacham Theatre May live Again". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  85. ^ a b "Tabu is now The Beacham". orlandosentinel.com. The Orlando Sentinel. January 6, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2016. John SanFelippo and George Maltezos, co-owners of Tabu ... have partnered with Gerard Mitchell and Michael McRaney, co-owners of The Social, in opening the newly named venue at 46 N. Orange Ave. The Social and The Beacham are next-door neighbors. Fans of Tabu need not fret because the weekend lineup will stay the same
  86. ^ Gillespie, Ryan (November 4, 2019). "The Beacham's renovation plans will take it back to early Orlando: 'It should be a showpiece'". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  87. ^ Rabines, Amanda (October 21, 2019). "Beacham Theater in downtown Orlando may be getting major makeover". Growthspotter. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  88. ^ a b c "The Great Southern Music Hall Orlando Concert Setlists". setlist.fm. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  89. ^ a b Staff, Jim Abbott of The Sentinel. "ROCK VETERANS LYNYRD SKYNYRD TO PLAY AT THE ARENA ON OCT. 1". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  90. ^ Thompson, Gavin (August 10, 1990). "PATO BANTON MAKES HIS MUSIC A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE". Pato Banton. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  91. ^ Staff, Parry Gettelman of The Sentinel. "THE CHILI PEPPERS ARE STILL HOTTER THAN EVER". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  92. ^ Moyer, Matthew. "Reggae legends the Wailers to play the Beacham this week". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  93. ^ Staff, Jim Abbott of The Sentinel. "NEIL YOUNG TO BLOW INTO TOWN LIKE A HURRICANE". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  94. ^ Staff, Jim Abbott of the Sentinel. "HARD ROCK TO HOST ZZ TOP'S FIRST LIVE SHOW IN 3 YEARS". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  95. ^ "The Beacham, Orlando Clubplanet nightlife directory". clubplanet.com. Clubplanet. 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  96. ^ "The Beacham". beachamorlando.com. The Beacham. 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2016.

March 12, 2024
beacham, theatre, 379472, 379472, exterior, venue, 2016, former, names, 1921, 1976, 2011, present, great, southern, music, hall, 1976, laser, world, 1981, moulin, orange, 1983, celebrity, dinner, theater, 1984, aahz, 1988, dekko, 1992, zuma, beach, club, 1994,. 28 32 35 N 81 22 46 W 28 543 N 81 379472 W 28 543 81 379472 Beacham TheatreExterior of venue c 2016 Former namesBeacham Theatre 1921 1976 2011 present Great Southern Music Hall 1976 81 Laser World 1981 82 Moulin Orange 1983 84 Celebrity Dinner Theater 1984 87 Aahz 1988 92 Dekko s 1992 94 Zuma Beach Club 1994 2000 Tabu 2001 10 General informationTypeTheaterArchitectural styleCommercial Art Deco and Mediterranean RevivalAddress46 N Orange AveOrlando FL 32801 2419CompletedDecember 9 1921Renovated1936 1953 1976 1981 1984 1988 1992 2000ClientBraxton Beacham Sr OwnerBeacham Theatre LLC Missy Casscells and Frank Hamby DimensionsOther dimensions145 feet 44 m across x 213 5 feet 65 1 m deepTechnical detailsStructural systemReinforced concrete and brick with stucco out surfaceFloor area30 965 square foot 2 876 7 m2 Other informationSeating capacity1 250WebsiteVenue WebsiteThe Beacham Theatre is a cinema built in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr in the city of Orlando Florida The current address of the theater is 46 North Orange Avenue and it is located at the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Washington Street The building s current lack of impressive architecture is offset by its significant cultural history 1 2 3 4 The Beacham Theatre was considered an important contributing structure when the Downtown Orlando historic district was created in 1980 and the building was granted local landmark status in 1987 5 The Beacham was once part of the vaudeville circuit and hosted celebrity acts such as John Philip Sousa the Ziegfeld Follies and W C Fields whose signature was once visible inside a dressing room In the eras of silent film and Classical Hollywood cinema the Beacham was operated as a movie theater that used then current state of the art motion picture technology The Beacham as it is currently named has since been used as a series of concert venues and nightclubs thus saving it from demolition The Beacham Theatre was once home to the internationally recognized 6 late night underground discotheque Aahz a notable early component of the US electronic dance music movement in the early 1990s 7 Contents 1 History 1 1 Construction 1 2 Vaudeville and Silent film era 1 2 1 End of the vaudeville and silent film era 1 3 First Run Movie era 1 3 1 End of the first run movie era 1 4 Live Entertainment era 1 5 Night Club era 1 5 1 Late Night era 1988 1994 Aahz 1 5 2 Cultural impact 1 5 3 End of the Late Night and Live Entertainment eras 1 5 4 Night Club exclusive use era 1 5 5 Return of Live Entertainment 2 Description 2 1 Historical 2 2 Modifications 2 2 1 Recent Changes 3 Notable performances 4 See also 5 External links 6 ReferencesHistory editConstruction edit nbsp The former Orange County Jail on the site of the Beacham TheatreThe Beacham Theatre was constructed in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr who had previously owned three other Orlando theaters 8 and had served as Mayor of Orlando during 1907 5 In 1917 Beacham paid approximately 17 500 20 000 for the property one block southwest of his stately residence on Jefferson Street after Orlando s citizens voted to pave the road to the cemetery instead of purchasing the old jail 9 The property he purchased had formerly served as the jail for Orange County since about 1873 10 With a 200 000 investment the former jail building was torn down in 1919 and Beacham developed a series of connected building units along the west side of Orange Avenue between Washington Street and Oak Street now Wall Street The new building was then known as Beacham s Block and is now known as the Beacham Building The location of Beacham s theater was precisely where several condemned prisoners were executed by hanging 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 According to local folklore the Beacham Building is reportedly haunted 15 17 The Beacham Theatre was constructed to have excellent acoustics 11 18 The Beacham s auditorium features square columns adorned with feathered capitals that climb gracefully to a high ceiling decorated with rectangles of intricate plasterwork 1 When constructed the theater was outfitted with draperies that covered the plaster walls The draperies had mild tan figures delicately woven into the broad white field with an occasional soft blue figure that were selected by Mrs Roberta Holland Beacham wife of Braxton Beacham Sr 19 nbsp The Beacham Theatre shortly after construction in 1921Beacham outfitted his theater with innovative state of the art equipment from the Southern Theater Equipment Company of Atlanta 20 The Beacham s box office in the lobby featured both an automatic admission ticket vending machine dispenser and ticket chopping machine A decorative marquee that was unique in Florida extended toward the street and featured an electric changeable sign that flashed the daily program 19 Two Powers 6B type E projectors were supplied by the N Power company of New York The Midas Gold film screen was made especially for the Beacham A medium sized pipe organ from the Austin Organ Company of Hartford Connecticut was purchased and installed at a cost of 15 000 19 The organ Opus 1034 with 3 manuals in a center console 24 ranks of pipes and 24 stops 21 was played by both Mr Herman Stuart and Mrs Roberta Branch Beacham wife of Braxton Beacham Jr to accompany silent films and vaudeville acts 19 Typhoon cooling and ventilating equipment was installed in the theater The Beacham Building s construction featured numerous fireproofing and fire safety measures When the theater opened the auditorium had an operating capacity of 1400 19 Tunnels from the theater stage trap ran into the basements of two nearby hotels The tunnels had low ceilings and were sealed during new construction in the early 1980s The tunnels extended south into the San Juan Hotel where Mr Beacham happened to have had an office 22 and then east under Orange Avenue into the Angebilt Hotel Historians reason that the purpose of the tunnels may have been either for vaudeville performers to enter the theater from their hotels without being mobbed by crowds or the tunnels could have been used for the storage and transportation of alcoholic beverages during prohibition as has been discovered at some of the other theaters in the Central Florida area 16 23 24 Vaudeville and Silent film era edit On December 9 1921 Orlando s premier vaudeville and movie house opened by showing The Wonderful Thing starring Norma Talmadge a Pathe News newsreel and Buster Keaton s The Boat 9 25 The Beacham Theatre was originally the only independent theater in Orlando 19 However the next year in 1922 Beacham leased his theater to Mack Sparks of the Sparks Theater Company chain 12 15 nbsp Beacham Theatre and San Juan Hotel circa 1923 Marquee The Second Orlando Picture The Burned CrucifixThe senior Braxton Beacham died in 1924 after a long illness and Roberta Holland Beacham died soon after in 1926 Their estate and real property were left to their children Norma K Hughes Roberta Augusta Rogers Braxton Beacham Jr and his wife Roberta Branch Beacham 22 Florida and Orlando were on what was referred to by vaudeville performers as The Straw Hat Circuit The Beacham Theatre was included on the Alexander Pantages Orpheum and Keith Albee vaudeville performance circuits later combined as the Keith Albee Orpheum circuit 3 9 Manager Harry Vincent started several promotions at the Beacham Theatre in the summer months of the mid 1920s that included Bank Night Amateur Night and Country Store Night which was supported by dozens of local merchants An advertisement for the Beacham in 1925 says Don t talk about the hot weather Beat the heat in a Beacham seat Kum Keep Kumfy Kool at the Beacham is known to many and you won t enjoy yourself until you too get into the line that leads to comfort 26 Frank Bell served as manager of the theater with organist Herman Siewart and Ken Guernsey leading the community sing along at open forum meetings that were held for several months during the winter on Sunday afternoons 22 The Beacham s exploitation director Frank H Burns often designed and created large elaborate standing displays that decorated the facade and lobby of the theater to advertise new film features 27 The iconic displays that Burns created for the Beacham Theatre were sometimes complete with coordinated costumes for the employees In 1928 Vitaphone and Movietone talkie equipment debuted during the city s first Progress Week during the last week of August The queen of the vamps actress Theda Bara was in appearance at the Beacham as students from Orlando High School sneaked into the balcony via the fire escape 9 12 Sound was provided by two gramophone discs that accompanied each film Both phonographs were played simultaneously in case the needle skipped during a film Output could be easily switched so that the film s sound could remain in synchronicity with the picture 28 William Booth succeeded Frank Bell as manager of the Beacham after Bell was transferred in 1928 22 The city s Sunday closing law was repealed by voters in 1929 by a majority of only 59 votes Movie theaters and other businesses in Orlando were then permitted to operate seven days a week All of Orlando s theaters including the Beacham celebrated by showing free films until late into the night 29 End of the vaudeville and silent film era edit Interest in silent films began to diminish in 1929 and they were gradually phased out and moved into obsolescence On Thursday evenings at the Beacham for the Bank Night promotion 200 was raffled with prizes of 50 On Saturday December 24 1931 and on Wednesday September 28 1932 a brand new 325 Austin 7 Sport Roadster was given away Vaudeville acts continued touring at the Beacham for several more years until approximately 1933 Homer Fuller served as manager of the Beacham during the end of the eras of silent films and vaudeville In 1933 following a bitter lawsuit against Orlando Enterprises over nonpayment of the lease for the building that had been originally negotiated with the senior Braxton Beacham in 1924 the theater was closed for almost three weeks 8000 in back taxes on Beacham s building was due Beacham Jr claimed the closure was deliberate and malicious and sued for 100 000 Two separate judgments were entered against Orlando Enterprises Inc for 2291 67 each and a payment agreement was reached Litigation was then withdrawn 22 As a result of the suit the lease was not renewed and Beacham s theater again became Orlando s only independent cinema 30 In the same year the theater was soon leased Florida State Theaters 12 13 Harry Vincent was named manager of the reopened theater in 1933 however soon after Vernon D Hunter became the theater s manager and remained in that role for the next two decades 22 First Run Movie era edit In August 1937 the Orlando Police Department raided the Beacham Theatre All of the equipment for the Bank Night marketing promotion was seized after authorities declared it to be a lottery 5 9 22 The Yearling was filmed locally in 1946 and the Beacham s projectionist Byram McGee served as an electrician and steward on the film production Mcgee s wife Lois acted in the role of Ma Forrester and was also the production s wardrobe supervisor Numerous other local technicians were involved with making the film 22 The Orlando Story filmed by Don Parrisher Motion Picture Productions of New York contained images of daily life in Orlando The movie was heavily promoted locally and was shown at the Beacham over three days in August 1949 31 nbsp Student ticket for The Robe and the debut of CinemaScope at the Beacham TheatreIn December 1949 The Tom Thumb Follies staged radio broadcast performances at the Beacham When a Santa Claus from the Elks Lodge lifted one young elf into the audience for the last verse the smell of bourbon whiskey caused her to ponder I wasn t just sure where the night s polka would land us Maybe Oz 32 After an extensive remodel CinemaScope equipment was introduced at the New Beacham Theatre in 1954 with the addition of stereophonic sound new projection lenses and a wider screen 33 CinemaScope had its debut at the Beacham on January 7 1954 for a two week showing of the film The Robe 34 Vernon D Hunter retired after 20 years as manager of the Beacham Theater Walter Colby became the executive director of several Orlando theaters including the Beacham 22 Braxton Beacham Jr died in 1961 nbsp The box office of the Beacham Theatre in March 1991 The 1954 box office was removed in 2000 During the Civil Rights Movement the Beacham Theatre had frequent stand in protests by African American citizens of relegation to lesser colored theaters mandated by Jim Crow laws such as the Florida Constitution of 1885 Reverend Nelson Pinder of Parramore s Episcopal Church of St John the Baptist along with other community leaders such as NAACP Youth Council advisor Rev Curtis Jackson worked with white officials for peaceful integration in Orlando to avoid incidents of racial violence that were occurring in other Florida cities 35 Rev Pinder organized the church s Liberal Religious Youth group 36 37 Rev Pinder s youth group protests were often joined by local members of the Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 22 37 Each night activist members of the youth groups quietly stood in near the Beacham s ticket booth until the theater stopped selling tickets 36 37 On May 24 1962 white supremacists were also picketing the Beacham at the same time as the Liberal Religious Youth group 37 Orlando police arrested eight teen protestors The teens were kept in so called protective custody and were later released to their parents 22 37 Following agreements with a biracial committee from Orlando Mayor Bob Carr s office of which Rev Pinder was a member the Beacham Theatre quietly began allowing a limited number of African American patrons into the balcony for designated showings in 1963 36 37 The theater remained racially segregated for African American patrons until 1965 38 In 1964 the theater was temporarily closed down while Cinerama equipment was installed A super wide anamorphic movie screen was added to the auditorium and the stereophonic sound system was upgraded Two Norelco Universal 70 35mm Motion Picture Projectors and a small restroom for the projectionist were installed in a newly built downstairs projection booth under the balcony that required the removal of two aisles and several seats Following the Beacham s upgrade to 70 mm film technology The Sound of Music had a continuous 14 month run between 1965 and 1966 9 13 15 Orlando s Chamber of Commerce held open forum meetings at the Beacham Theatre on Sundays during the winter months of 1971 1973 under the direction of W F Blackman 22 End of the first run movie era edit nbsp 1990s logo depicting the Beacham Theatre s mid century marquee During the 1970s Orlando like many U S cites was experiencing symptoms of urban decay The rush from the city to the suburbs affected nearly all of the city s businesses As an effect of the exodus each of Downtown Orlando s movie theaters closed 4 9 Dick Gabel and John Prine were serving as projectionists at several of the theaters 38 Following a decline in attendance by 1974 the Beacham Theatre and Florida State Theaters in general were primarily showing exploitation films and B movie action films 13 The next year H A Tedder who was the Orlando executive manager at long time lessee Florida State Theaters made the decision that The Beacham Theatre would cease operating as a first run movie cinema 13 After showing a Sunday double feature of Return of the Street Fighter and The Scavengers the Beacham Theatre s manager McKinley Howard closed the theater s doors as a first run film cinema for the last time on September 28 1975 39 Florida State Theaters remained responsible for paying the monthly lease of 2700 until the theater was sold 13 Live Entertainment era edit In 1975 Larry and Sherry Carpenter purchased the Beacham Building from then owners Betty Rubles Bray and Burkett H Bray Jr A great granddaughter of Braxton Beacham Mrs Bray refused to sell the theater by itself without also selling the rest of the building as a package 11 An extensive 250 000 remodeling and restoration followed that included multi colored Art Deco revival style graphics painted over the facade and a large multi story mural of a saxophone and its open case painted on the rear of the theater that faced west and was clearly visible from nearby Interstate 4 Following the restoration the Carpenters opened Orlando s franchise location of The Great Southern Music Hall at the Beacham in 1976 15 The 700 seat Great Southern Music Hall was a concert venue that hosted approximately 180 prominent national and regional acts at the Beacham The Great Southern Music Hall was occasionally still used as a movie theater that presented world cinema and classic Hollywood films by film directors such as John Carpenter Federico Fellini and Mel Brooks during the week John Lawson was the acting projectionist and served as stage director for concerts As The Great Southern Music Hall only about seven music shows were unprofitable Nevertheless Orlando s Great Southern Music Hall closed in 1981 due to the rising costs of hosting concerts for notable musical acts and competition from larger venues 5 11 13 Roberta Branch Beacham died in 1980 nbsp Mural on Beacham Theater in 1983In 1981 Sherry Carpenter then sole owner leased the theater to Jeff Roberts Roberts opened Laser World a futuristic one and one half hour laser light show that featured lasers sound ballet costumed modern dance routines and magic illusion as well as outer space photographs that were projected onto a large viewing screen from behind 13 14 Laser World closed in 1982 15 Other short lasting entities followed The Orlando Sentinel critic Howard Means reminded readers that the 1965 installation of then new Cinerama equipment at the Beacham was the latest testimony to the faith in the future of Downtown Orlando and that The Beacham had long been seen as a bellwether of the health of the center city Upon further reflection he lamented that the Beacham is simply a microcosm of modern downtown realities Means editorialized by 1982 The present state of the Beacham was the latest testament to decay and In the way of dying enterprises the Beacham s reincarnations became increasingly more short lived 15 In February 1983 Oscar F Juarez an Orlando property developer and Republican Party strategist purchased the building for 1 5 million 40 Soon after the purchase a plan was announced to lease it to open a bar and French restaurant with a Georgetown flair that later became Valentyne s Restaurant as well as a new nightclub inside the theater 11 A vision for the theater announced in 1983 was for a New York style nightclub dubbed Studio 46 that emulated the spirit of Studio 54 11 Studio 46 did not come to fruition but the primordial description of Orlando s very own Studio 54 at the Beacham Theater was soon realized a few years later 41 The theater was next leased by Ellen Hunt of Orlando and Roger Lopez of France in August 1983 Hunt and Lopez opened a cabaret club in the theater named Moulin Orange that featured Las Vegas style showgirls 42 Moulin Orange was only open for several months during 1983 and 1984 14 In December 1984 with the hope of operating an expansion to his dinner theater franchise a five year lease of the theater was granted to Theatre Management Corporation of Orlando consisting of actor Tom McKinney and Rick Allen a producer of the Reynolds Theater 14 The Beacham served as a Celebrity Dinner Theater franchise location in conjunction with Valentyne s restaurant that was next door from 1985 until 1986 42 43 Under new management Valentyne s Celebrity Dinner Theater briefly reopened in 1986 before the dinner theater venture at the Beacham finally ended entirely early in 1987 2 14 The Beacham Theatre was granted local historic landmark status on September 21 1987 for its historical significance to the community 2 Between each new identity for the theater and the occasional concert the Beacham Theatre sat unoccupied and empty 43 nbsp Square columns and feathered capitals climb gracefully to intricate plasterwork in 1991 1 Despite the new recognition for the theater by the City of Orlando Mr Juarez saw the building as a liability with many pleasant memories surrounding it but with little economic potential Citing maintaining the building and rehabilitation of the area he first announced plans to raze the building for an unspecified mix use purpose and later to redevelop the former Beacham Block with a new skyscraper that would be used as a combination office building and hotel 44 45 In 1988 Juarez received two successive approval Certificate of Appropriateness permits from the City of Orlando Board of Historic Preservation to demolish the Beacham Theatre within 180 days 5 The Bye bye Beacham Bash was promptly organized by Orlando Remembered and attended by former theater doormen ushers candy girls and cashiers on December 9 1988 18 However Mr Juarez s redevelopment plan and the new construction of a 20 story office building and parking garage fell through at the last moment due to poor timing Additional parking could have contributed to a revitalized downtown area but the market for office space in Downtown Orlando was nearly saturated in the late 1980s and there was a general lack of interest from prospective future tenants Had the project materialized Mr Juaraz would have been required to reconstruct a replica of the original Beacham Theatre facade using original building materials of brick stucco decorative tile and pastel colors 5 40 nbsp Beacham Theatre facade in March 1991In 1987 Brad Belletto and then wife Lisa moved to Orlando from Louisiana Brad Belletto then owned a theatrical equipment manufacturing company and had formerly owned Moon Sound a New Orleans sound and lighting company The Bellettos intent on overhauling the music scene in Orlando were looking for a new venue following operation of a successful club in Baton Rouge They found the Beacham Theatre and immediately fell in love with it 46 At that time the Beacham was being subleased to Clark J a local record producer and a brief partnership was formed Late in 1988 the lease for the Beacham s theater was secured by the Bellettos under Entertainment Investments International 18 47 Several of Lisa s cousins relocated to Orlando to help out with the task of preparing the Beacham for its opening and Brad s mother Bev tended the bar through the entire duration of the lease The Bellettos also hosted an annual full service Christmas dinner for hundreds of the city s homeless population at the Beacham Theatre with food donated by Orlando s high end restaurants and businesses 47 The Bellettos planned to use the Beacham Theatre for theatrical performances and concerts during the week and as a nightclub on the weekends 18 46 Frank Carroll served as the managing artistic director for theatre productions and starred in a Las Vegas style musical revue tribute to Liberace Viva Liberace Viva A Leonard Bernstein opera and an Edward Albee drama were additional production features before theatrical productions ceased 43 Concerts were coordinated by Mary Ann D Arpino of Mary Ann Productions who had an office at the Beacham Island Productions Harry Tiyler of Fat Harry Productions and Cellar Door Productions Several prominent musical act concerts of nearly every genre were staged during this time 1 4 11 48 Night Club era edit Since 1988 the theater has been used as a series of combination nightclub and concert venue enterprises 46 In May 1989 the Beacham Theatre was sold by Oscar Juarez for 1 8 million to a property management firm owned by Longwood businesswoman Missy Casscells and her husband Frank Hamby 49 Late Night era 1988 1994 Aahz edit Brad and Lisa Belletto with other Beacham DJs scoured sources across the U S and Europe and traveled frequently for new and rare records 50 During the Second Summer of Love in the United Kingdom that began in 1988 on Friday and Saturday nights the Beacham Theater housed a discotheque that had a progressive dance music format with Lisa Belletto as resident DJ and lighting control operator and Brad Belletto as operating director 48 Initially the club was to be called F X or Effects 48 but it opened as Pure NRG or Energy 46 The late nights at the Beacham featured DJs beat matching rare and obscure dance music on vinyl records intelligent lighting and themed decor that at times included original paintings by local artist Rollo The popularity of dancing throughout the night at the Beacham Theatre initially caught on slowly and many free passes were given out Soon the entry queue for Late Night snaked around the block The transition from handyman special to underground hotspot was attributed to the Belleto s planning dedication and vision 46 The conceptual themes for Late Night were frequently alternated sometimes weekly and occasionally repeated The various themes subsequently included World War III Aahz Trancentral The Haunted Theatre Egypt Alphabet City Psychedelic Babylon Unity and Reunion The all night dance parties were eventually referred to using the umbrella term Late Night at the Classic Beacham Theatre 51 52 The Aahz nightclub concept was born after Lisa saw the name at a shop in Los Angeles The Bellettos and Shayni Howen then created and developed the Aahz concept for the Beacham Shayni and her team created Aahz s iconic decor which included a painted yellow brick road and a giant paper mache Wizard of Oz head behind the stage 50 At midnight each night DJ Lisa typically played Rhythm Device s Acid Rock at which point the stage s curtain was raised and the glowing eyes and smoking mouth of the Wizard were revealed citation needed Eventually the combined tasks of simultaneously playing all of the music and operating the lights became overwhelming for Lisa and as a result Shayni s sister Late night veteran Stacey StaceBass Howen was brought in to operate the computerized lighting control console and promote the nightclub By the Summer of 1989 Lisa was expecting her first child and still resident DJ Only two months before the birth of her son she invited Kimball Collins who was the DJ in the Beacham Buildings northern unit to replace her and hired him as Aahz s resident Late Night DJ Joseph Jilbert DJ Jo Edd Steve McClure DJ Monk and Paul Campbell DJ Stylus had brief stints as DJ at Late Night when they were hired to fill in for Lisa or Kimball Collins Dave Cannalte was quickly brought in as Late Night s co resident DJ 52 At this point Underground music such as Industrial dance music and Gothic rock was played during Orlando s normal bar operating hours from 10 p m until just after 2 am Upon an announcement at around 2 30 a m or an opening at 3 am 53 that said simply Welcome to Late Night 54 mixed New Beat Progressive dance Balearic beat and Acid house electronic dance music began that frequently lasted until 8 a m and occasionally lasted until as late as 11 am 55 Local DJ s Jerry Johnson the Reverend Andy Hughes Jay Skinner Robby Clark Troy Davis Eddie Pappa DJ Icey and DJ Lisa Belletto were occasional guests for special events such as the DJ Unity for the World dance party in December 1991 56 nbsp 1991 Return of AAHZ flyerDave Cannalte and Kimball Collins and Stace presided over and further developed an ever growing local scene Chris Fortier later joined the duo of Kimball and Dave Cannalte as an Aahz resident DJ 57 As it evolved Late Night boosted the careers of numerous DJs and producers such as Andy Hughes Jimmy Van M AK1200 DJ Icey DJ Baby Anne Sean Cusick and Cosmic Baby as well as Dave Seaman Sasha and John Digweed 52 53 55 57 58 50 59 60 61 62 63 64 The use of psychedelic drugs such as ecstasy and LSD at the Beacham Theatre during the late 1980s and early 1990s was prevalent and eventually began to attract the attention of law enforcement agencies After warnings about increased surveillance of the Beacham that allegedly came from the Drug Enforcement Administration additional security pat downs new restrictions on reentering attire and the behavior for patrons were implemented Once during the early 1990s Late Night was raided by masked agents of the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation who temporarily stopped the music and turned on the lights while they searched for and detained a suspect citation needed The final all night Aahz themed events The Return of Aahz were held at the Beacham between September 7 1991 and July 4 1992 and lasted until Dekko s opened However Aahz was the theme that really stuck with patrons and among participants is still used as a nickname for Late Night reunion tour events and even for the Beacham Theatre itself 50 Lift night soon commenced in the Beacham Building s north most unit then called Barbarella s The Beacham Building s north most corner unit was once called Beach Club where Kimball Collins was resident DJ in the mid 1980s 63 Late Night in the Beacham Theatre returned when Unity presented Welcome Back to Late Night on October 30 1993 Late Night s Reunion at the Beacham was then initiated at Dekko s 65 nbsp 1992 Death of AAHZ flyerCultural impact edit The early mornings at the Beacham Theatre kick started Orlando s own Summer of Love between 1991 and 1992 that helped usher in the increased popularity of the subculture surrounding electronic dance music in Florida and subsequently in the United States 51 50 Late Night organized several music festivals that were held at the Orange County Convention Center such as the Infonet DJ spinoff on October 24 1992 the Infonet 2 dance party on December 31 1992 and Infonet 3 The Underground Explosion on July 3 1993 Subsequent large event promoters failed to emulate the spirit of those events 50 Although raves per se were not held in the Theater the Beacham served as the prototype for nearly all of the larger so called rave oriented nightclubs that followed it 55 66 67 In doing so Late Night at the Beacham Theatre inspired the genesis of the internationally recognized Orlando Sound genre that is also known as Florida breaks 41 57 58 62 68 7 69 70 71 72 73 External media Late Night at the Beacham Theatre Audio and Video DJ sets and music from Late Night nbsp 20 year Aahz Reunion 2009 Audio nbsp Trancentral live sets with DJ Jo Ed and DJ RPM 1989 via WaxDJ com nbsp Kimball Collins Late Night live set at Beacham Jan 9 1991 via Soundcloud nbsp Kimball Collins and Sasha first U S visit at Beacham August 1992 YouTube audio nbsp AAHZ Official Reunion performances of the music from Late night on SoundCloudVideo nbsp Dave Cannalte at Aahz Unity IV special event Dec 7 1991 YouTube video nbsp Dave Cannalte at Aahz Unity IV special event Dec 7 1991 Pt II YouTube video nbsp Renaissance Reunion feat Sasha at the Beacham Theatre 1994 YouTube video nbsp Clubbers leaving after patron collapsed 1994 YouTube videoEnd of the Late Night and Live Entertainment eras edit Inside Late Night at the Beacham was always very dark and the auditorium was absolutely filthy In contrast initially the scene s vibe was pure and drugs such as MDMA that were available were relatively unadulterated As time went on the beloved Beacham was beautified and remodeled into Dekko s While the Beacham itself was cleaned up the overall vibe of Orlando s scene seemed to darken somewhat just as the quality of club drugs that were still available during that time became tainted 50 During the summer of 1994 at a Late Night event featuring a guest appearance DJ Sasha two female revelers who were attending a Reunion event at the Beacham Theatre collapsed just before sunrise 50 The women were carried outside to Orange Avenue in front of Dekko s where CPR was administered by an Orlando Police Department officer and paramedics were dispatched Tragically one of the young women expired The Orlando Sentinel reported the May 1 1994 passing of 20 year old Teresa Schwartz and that the other young woman was briefly in critical condition 74 75 76 77 78 65 However she promptly recovered Substance abuse related cardiac arrhythmia or hyperthermia was the suspected cause of death The incident along with those at other venues in Orlando shocked the underground dance club scene in Central Florida and were followed by a dramatic decrease in attendance Late Night s organizers made the responsible decision to end Reunion at Dekko s after their pleas for young club goers to practice moderation were ignored The Dekko s concept was sold to a competitor in the following months 5 50 65 nbsp 2016 AAHZ ReunionOn Saturday nights during 1995 Late Night briefly resumed in The Club at Firestone with DJ Robby Clark Kimball Collins Dave Cannalte StaceBass and friends 55 However the City of Orlando subsequently created a Rave Review Task Force in 1997 79 80 and later passed a local ordinance 81 that contributed to Florida s crackdown on after hours nightclubs 55 50 65 Central Florida s crackdown led to the eventual passage of an anti rave law in Florida that ultimately led to the signing of national Anti Rave legislation 77 The Aahz Reunion Tour launched in 1998 and as of 2019 reunions of Aahz Late Night occur nearly biannually and are frequently held in the Beacham Theatre 55 50 62 Late Night reunions however now end promptly before 2 30 a m Night Club exclusive use era edit By 1992 the future looked brighter for the Beacham Theatre when Mike Berry staff writer for The Orlando Sentinel wrote that The Beacham Theatre is the latest testament to reincarnation Concerts were no longer being held in the auditorium during this time period and the Beacham Theatre was used exclusively as night club through 2010 It was 1992 when Orlando Attorney Mark NeJame leased the Beacham Theatre with the option to match the purchase price of any prospective buyers 4 The Beacham underwent restoration at a cost of in excess of 1 000 000 NeJame then opened Dekko s a mainstream high energy dance club Dekko s is an amalgam of Deco and Gekko The Dekko s concept featured a rose beige exterior with a newly restored Art Deco inspired facade with red neon lighting Dekko s interior included extensive use of the color purple and a sushi bar in the balcony The inclusion of a terrarium vivarium with live subtropical geckos was planned 4 Dekko s was open from late 1992 until the high energy dance club concept was bought out in 1994 by Bill Harmening who operated The Edge a competing nightclub 5 50 Zuma Beach Club followed Dekko s and opened in 1994 5 82 The recently remodeled auditorium was gutted for the change Redecoration was complete with fishing nets galvanized watering troughs for beer and warning signs for sharks On February 22 1995 NeJame entered a new partnership with George Maltezos John SanFelippo and brother Joseph SanFelippo Zuma Beach was often described by NeJame as the cheesiest club in America Rolling Stone in 1997 described Zuma Beach as a cheesy dive 72 Zuma Beach even hosted an Extreme Championship Wrestling hardcore professional wrestling match on January 29 2000 83 Mercifully Zuma Beach closed its doors in late 2000 84 Finally after yet another remodeling of the auditorium Tabu opened in 2001 Initially Tabu was more of an upscale nightclub Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough who performed his first musical at the Beacham as one of the Munchkins in the Lollipop Guild for a theatre production of The Wizard of Oz was a design and talent acquisition advisor for Tabu 84 However Tabu later became more mainstream Tabu had a weekly lineup presentation that with the exception of hosting live music was similar to the theater s current nightclub iteration 85 Tabu closed in late 2010 when Mark NeJame and Joseph SanFelippo left the partnership Return of Live Entertainment edit nbsp Beacham logoIn 2011 leases for the Beacham Theatre were renewed by John SanFelippo and George Maltezos along with Gerard Mitchell and Michael McRaney who leased the adjacent unit Their partnership is named 46 54 North Orange Ave LLC and both units are leased from building owners Margaret Casscells and Frank Hamby of Beacham Theater LLC nbsp Since 2011 The Beacham nightclub has operated in partnership with The Social a smaller venue next door at 54 North Orange Avenue The venues are connected via a passage and door The Beacham features disc jockey entertainment and plays Hip hop Top 40 Latin music and Reggaeton 85 The Live Entertainment era currently continues on stages at both The Beacham and partner The Social Prominent national and international musical acts perform with fidelity to the countless shows by numerous acts that have previously held performances in the Beacham Theatre from the mid 1970s through the early 1990s Description editBeacham s Building is divided into seven rental units using wood frame brick walls different facades and paint The theater is the south most unit The two story Beacham Theatre was constructed in 1921 in a simple 20th Century Commercial Style The structure is constructed of reinforced concrete and brick with stucco out surface Use of wood in the construction was minimized 19 Historical edit The facade was decorated with multi colored tile trim and impregnated with seashell The first story originally contained two small storefronts a boxoffice and lobby entrance to the theater as well the auditorium stage dressing rooms staff restrooms and a green room The second story of the theater contained restrooms windowed offices a projection booth and balcony seating section as well as additional dressing rooms accessible by a spiral staircase 12 Above the stage was the fly system and catwalk Modifications edit In 1936 Art Deco styling with Mediterranean style tile was added to the facade and extensive neon lighting was installed the on the entrance overhang 5 12 Inside the theater was modernized to provide lighted stairs air conditioning into the dressing rooms an enlarged auditorium and improved seating Capacity was reduced to 1 051 13 To diminish echoes from the projectors and recorded sound equipment the auditorium was carpeted with a floral pattern and the plaster walls were covered with an Ozite material 28 Vernon Hunter oversaw the modernization 12 nbsp Beacham Theatre upstairs offices in March 1991 In 1954 the look of the theater was modernized once again with the removal of parapets cornices and windows The marquee was replaced with a new porcelain one The lobby was enclosed with glass doors and the boxoffice was moved to the right side of the lobby exterior and rebuilt An entirely new stucco sheeting was installed over the facade a wide screen was installed and new decorations and push back seats were added with additional alterations to the floor plan and seating areas Capacity was reduced to 650 5 12 13 33 In 1964 the proscenium was modified to accommodate the installation of Cinerama widescreen 13 A new projection room was constructed under the balcony to accommodate 70 mm projectors By 1975 the theater was no longer being used as a feature cinema For the 1976 opening of the Great Southern Music Hall the theater s interior and stage were remodeled the proscenium was rebuilt balcony seating was added The facade was repainted with Art Deco graphics and a large mural was painted on the back of the theater Capacity was increased to 765 5 13 nbsp The balcony was remodeled in March 1991 revealing the theater s original 35 mm film projection port The balcony was extended in 1981 In 1984 the theater cinema s 765 seats were removed and sold and the sloped auditorium floor was terraced 11 Buffet dinner tables for 400 and balcony tables for 100 were added The backstage area was remodeled and the balcony was restored back to its original shape Exterior drainage was improved The degraded ceiling plasterwork was repaired and repainted the roof was replaced and wiring were upgraded in 1988 18 43 External air conditioning was being pumped in By 1991 the balcony was renovated and re extended and the 70 mm film projection room under the balcony had been removed and the air conditioning repaired Opera boxes were installed on the second floor of either side of the stage and the DJ booth was relocated shortly thereafter nbsp Facade restoration proposal for the Beacham TheatreAs the Beacham was renovated to become Dekkos s in 1992 it was discovered that the stucco sheeting that was installed during a modernization in 1954 could not be economically removed without severely damaging the original facade underneath Restoration plans for the facade had to be modified 5 An arched molding was then added to the facade A sunburst and red neon lighting was subsequently added Following an effort to bring back the aesthetics of the old Beacham Theatre in 2000 owners restored the Beacham s ornate plaster ceiling moldings facade and marquee In addition the sloping theater floor was made level and the stage was elevated The original Beacham Theatre sign is awaiting restoration and is being stored on the roof 84 Around 2005 the facade was modified by removing a small semi circular molding in front of the sunburst The points of the sunburst were also removed leaving a large semi circular molding and larger arch above it decorating the facade nbsp Beacham Theatre s facade was in poor condition between 2014 and 2016 Recent Changes edit The balcony and upstairs areas were remodeled in 2011 with a beautifully painted ceiling and the addition of two chandeliers Restrooms were installed in place of the theater s original office area and 35 mm film projection booth During the summer months of 2016 the crumbling arched molding was removed from the facade The facade was then repaired and repainted and new red and blue neon lighting was installed As of 2019 the theater s ornate plaster ceilings are in a state of disrepair with the decorative ceiling concealed behind a black cloth barrier that can retain any pieces of plaster that might fall citation needed Two skyboxes were added in 2019 Further restoration in the near future is in a discussion and planning stage In October 2019 Orlando s Historic Preservation Board approved a major makeover for the entire Beacham block was announced The construction effort is planned to last one year with a completion date near the centennial anniversary of the building The theaters facade will be reconstructed with styling elements from the 1920s 30s and 40s 86 87 Notable performances editVaudeville acts that have performed at the Beacham Theatre include the Ziegfeld Follies John Philip Sousa W C Fields Irving Berlin s Music Box Revue Frieda Hempel Theda Bara Irving Caesar s The Greenwich Village Follies of 1922 organist Professor Herman Siewert Keith s Vaudeville Company ventriloquist Marshall Montgomery Flo Ziegfeld s Sally Gertrude Hoffmann Dancers Artists and Models Super Revue of 1924 The Cloverleaf Dancers The Elks Minstrels Fay Lane amp Barry Fay Two Colleys and gymnasts The Kramer Brothers 9 Blues and Jazz musicians including Ray Charles B B King John Lee Hooker Johnny Sansone Delbert McClinton Leon Russell Edgar Winter Leo Kottke Roy Buchanan Dr John Buckwheat Zydeco Maynard Ferguson Billy Cobham Gato Barbieri Ramsey Lewis Freddie Hubbard and Diane Schuur have performed at the Beacham Theatre 88 Classic rock era acts such as The Police The Pretenders Rick Derringer Pat Travers Band Al Stewart Dickey Betts Head East Sea Level Utopia Horslips New Riders of the Purple Sage Dave Brubeck Todd Rundgren Bill Warheit Michael Hedges Earl Scruggs Jose Feliciano Lyle Lovett Root Boy Slim Stray Cats 89 The Damned 89 and the Ramones have performed at the Beacham 88 Metal acts such as Judas Priest Slayer Gwar Dark Angel 7 seconds Overkill and Wolfsbane and Death Angel have appeared at the Beacham 88 Orlando Death metal band Death filmed their music video for Lack of Comprehension at the Beacham Theatre citation needed Reggae acts Pato Banton 90 Toots Hibbert and The Maytals 91 Inner Circle The Wailers 92 Aswad 93 and Yellowman 94 have also performed In more recent years Ministry KMFDM Fugazi Revolting Cocks Devo Book of Love Go Radio Tori Amos Soundgarden The Pixies Good Charlotte Pink Lush David Byrne Fishbone The Cramps Flat Duo Jets L A Guns G Love amp Special Sauce and The Claypool Lennon Delirium as well as notable DJ acts Razor and Guido Carl Cox Sasha John Digweed Dave Seaman and Dynamix II and many others have played at the Beacham 95 The Beacham website offers the following synopsis 96 Downtown s notorious venue has entertained Orlando for almost 100 years with a diverse history from vaudeville to cinema and epic concert events This building has encountered countless celebrities and their greatest projects In the last four decades various superstars have graced this Orange Avenue venue s mammoth stage including but not limited to 50 Cent Lauryn Hill Ice Cube 2 Chainz Wale Trina Juvenile French Montana Meek Mill Rick Ross Waka Flocka Flame J Cole Trick Daddy DJ Khaled and Flo Rida Dance music s innovative DJs The Crystal Method Paul Oakenfold Benny Benassi Armin Van Buuren Tiesto Afrojack and David Guetta have also called this historic location home Professional wrestlers Rob Van Dam Masato Tanaka Rhyno Super Crazy The Dupps Yoshihiro Tajiri Tommy Dreamer and Simon Diamond had a match in the Beacham Theatre 83 See also edit nbsp Architecture portal nbsp Biography portal nbsp Film portal nbsp Florida portal nbsp History portal nbsp Music portal nbsp Theater portalHouse Music Psychedelic music Rave Rave music Well sbuilt HotelExternal links editBeacham Theatre article collection archive of The Orlando SentinelReferences edit a b c d Dezern Craig February 28 1988 Conflict Now Playing At Beacham Owner Destroy It Activists Save It orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 11 2016 But when preservationists look they see a landmark Square columns adorned with feathered capitals climb gracefully to a high ceiling decorated with rectangles of intricate plasterwork An orchestra pit and the gentle slope of the auditorium floor wait covered by modern alterations The debate between progress and preservation has played in old theaters throughout the South and sometimes preservation has won But for every theater saved two more meet the wrecking ball The Beacham soon may join the fallen theaters Juarez a developer and political consultant has applied for permission to tear down the building at 46 N Orange Ave and the Beacham lacks key elements that saved movie palaces in Tampa Atlanta and Lakeland Impressive architecture is one of those elements a b c Blumenstyk Goldie February 10 1988 Beacham The End Or A Full New Show orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 11 2016 a b Wilkening David February 1988 Can they save the Beacham Orlando Magazine via City of Orlando Historic Preservation Beacham File a b c d e Berry Mike October 14 1992 Another facade may soon grace historic Beacham Beacham may get a Face Lift The Orlando Sentinel Orlando FL a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Beacham Theatre City of Orlando Historic Preservation Board Benson Richard May 1994 Renaissance men The Face 2 68 74 79 a b Ferguson Jason Le Huu Bao July 2 2013 Dance dance revolution orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved July 28 2016 The 1990s was formative in the electronic dance music awakening of America and that fire catching cultural momentum would vault Orlando to the vanguard of it all As one of the premier global epicenters of the rave big bang the city found itself on equal footing with not just New York or Los Angeles but also with the trailblazing U K scene English breaks DJ producer Nick Newton named his 1996 record Orlando even siring its own sound Florida breaks With News Correspondents Florida Motion Picture News New York Motion Picture News Inc May June 1921 Retrieved February 17 2017 a b c d e f g h Act Two A Beacham History 1985 Celebrity Dinner Theater a b Stephanie Gaub Antequino Tana Mosier Porter Historical Society of Central Florida 2012 Lost Orlando Arcadia Publishing ISBN 978 0 7385 9173 5 a b c d e f g h Schaal Hinson Sandra February 1983 A mover behind shakers Orlando Magazine Orlando Orlando Magazine a b c d e f g h Ives Sidney December 23 1953 Beacham Has Come Long Way Lillian Gish to Queen Esther The Orlando Evening Star a b c d e f g h i j k l Sweers Katheryn July 12 1981 Curtain rises on new act for Beacham The Orlando Sentinel a b c d e Andrews Mark January 28 1996 Early Entertainment Venues Evolved From Opera House To Movie Theaters orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 21 2016 the former site of the county jail where hangings once were conducted and built the Beacham Theater Air conditioning was installed in the 30s It later was home to Laser World then to Moulin Orange a Las Vegas style cabaret that lasted four months in 1983 84 and then to Valentyne s Celebrity Dinner Theatre which opened in 1987 a b c d e f g Means Howard October 17 1982 Requiem for the Beacham Theatre The Orlando Sentinel a b Steve Rajtar 2006 A Guide to Historic Orlando The History Press pp 58 ISBN 978 1 59629 198 0 Wallace Dickinson Joy February 16 2001 A Jaunt Into Haunts orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 14 2016 Gavin s tour includes tales of a sensational murder across the street from the Angebilt in the vanished San Juan Hotel and of a secret tunnel connecting the Angebilt to the old Beacham Theater now the Tabu night spot at 46 N Orange Which brings us to the ghost stories Ghosts it seems are especially attracted to theaters and Gavin s tour includes mentions of apparitions both at the Beacham and in several other theatrical venues a b c d e Hodges Sam December 6 1988 Beacham Does Its Bit For History Bye bye Bash A Benefit For Downtown Displays The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 23 2016 a b c d e f g New Beacham is one of Refinement and Elegance Equipment of New Beacham Theater is the Finest that is Obtainable The Evening Reporter Star Orlando December 8 1921 Glover C A December 4 1988 1907 Beacham Elected Mayor orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 16 2016 Austin Organs Database retrieved October 14 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l Eve Bacon 1977 Orlando A Centennial History Mickler House Shrieves Linda February 10 2007 Take a walk into Florida s past orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 5 2016 Behind the theater s backstage is a trap door to a tunnel that runs underneath Orange Avenue to the 11 story brick building that was once the grand Angebilt Hotel The tunnel was built he says so that vaudeville stars appearing at the Beacham in the 1920s 30s and 40s could slip back to the hotel after the show without being mobbed by fans Digging into Orlando s Past Is there a secret tunnel connecting the Beacham Theater and the old Angebilt Hotel orlandomagazine com Orlando Magazine July 12 2012 Retrieved August 5 2016 Another Orlando historian Joy Wallace Dickinson raises an intriguing possibility about the Beacham Recently she toured some historic buildings in Tampa and learned that during renovation crews came across subterranean spaces about 3 feet high that were used to hide booze during Prohibition Hoofbeats Were Background To New Year s 1901 orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel December 31 2000 Retrieved August 4 2016 What s What Here and There as Recorded by Bobby 1925 magazine Theatrical section via LMS Orange County Public Library Orlando Motion Picture News May Jun 1925 mediahistoryproject org The Museum of Modern Art Library coordinated by the Media History Digital Library May 2 1925 Archived from the original on July 3 2015 Retrieved August 24 2016 a b Robinson Wendall February 5 1982 Interview of Wendall O Robinson projectionist Interview Interviewed by B T Sherwood Orlando Retroactively Speaking Downtown Orlando Monthly November 1996 via Theatre Historical Society of America Beacham Movie Line Up in September 1933 April 18 2013 retrieved February 9 2017 The Orlando Story Orlando Memory Orange County Library System July 7 2012 Archived from the original on August 17 2016 Retrieved August 5 2016 promoting a movie created about daily life in Orlando called The Orlando Story The film was shown for three days August 11 12 and 13 at the Beacham These scenes were shot by Don Parrisher Motion Picture Productions of New York some months ago now you can see them on the Beacham and Roxy screens Weber III Theodore H December 25 1994 Oh Little Town Florida Magazine Orlando Florida magazine via Rollins College Olin Library a b Impressive new Facade for Florida Theatre boxoffice com Boxoffice Magazine January 9 1954 Retrieved August 11 2016 Coate Michael September 16 2013 Looking back at CinemaScope The Original Engagements of The Robe film tech com Retrieved August 28 2016 Kunerth Jeff January 8 2010 Episcopal diocese honors Nelson Pinder for 50 years in ministry The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 30 2016 a b c Mosier Porter Tana Winter 2004 Segregation and Desegregation in Parramore Orlando s African American Community PDF The Florida Historical Quarterly Volume 82 Number 3 The Florida Historical Society Retrieved August 23 2016 a b c d e f Kunerth Jeff February 22 2009 Teens spark Orlando s civil rights era orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved November 21 2016 Some of the youths worked with the Rev Nelson Pinder a young Episcopalian minister of the streets Others such as those arrested in March 1962 were members of the NAACP Youth Council a local chapter started in 1959 Two months after being released from jail Poston was arrested again for trying to integrate the Beacham Theater in downtown Orlando Joining a group of black kids Poston stood in line for tickets was refused got back in line and continued the routine until the last ticket was sold Their courteous protest drew the attention of young white segregationists who threatened the black teens Orlando police arrived and arrested the eight black students for disturbing the peace Police later said the blacks were taken into protective custody to prevent violence against them All were released because they were underage except 18 year old Sandra Poston who called her mother from jail I thought Here it goes again her mother said That charge and all the charges against the kids arrested at Stroud s were eventually dismissed 1963 Beacham Theater agrees to allow limited numbers of blacks at designated showings a b Jennings Samuel June 18 2011 Beacham Theater cinematreasures org Cinema Treasures Retrieved August 5 2016 Last picture Show Beacham September 28 1975 a b Benedick Robin April 7 1988 Goodbye Voted For Beacham Board Says Owner May Tear Old Theater Down The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 24 2016 a b Abbott Jim June 27 2013 Make a return to AAHZ once more orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 5 2016 Gazing upward at the high ceiling inside The Beacham DJ Kimball Collins reflects on the role that the building itself had on the mystique of AAHZ the progressive house music parties that put Orlando on the international map as a hotbed of electronic music in the early 1990s We always wanted people to come experience it here Collins says of the Beacham This is like our Studio 54 there s just something about this room Between roughly 1989 and 1992 AAHZ blossomed into a weekly all night Saturday dance party that attracted devoted fans who would travel from across the state to dance until daylight There s a scene in the movie 54 when one of the characters walks into the club for the first time and everything just slows down and it s sensory overload That philosophy yielded AAHZ a concept eternally beloved by its fans and those who created it It still has some sort of energy in here for them Collins says looking around the room We feel it a b Hagstrom Suzy November 5 1984 Curtain Call for Old Beacham Theater The Orlando Sentinel a b c d Maupin Elizabeth November 3 1988 Theater Revival At The Beacham Won t Last Long orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 10 2016 The Beacham which closed as a movie house in 1975 has stood empty off and on for years between incarnations as the Great Southern Music Hall Celebrity Dinner Theater and a number of shorter lived enterprises As Celebrity Dinner Theater the building was used from February 1985 to January 1986 and under other management again for the first several months of 1987 Since then it has been used occasionally for concerts but has fallen into disrepair Snyder Jack July 13 1987 Juarez Building Finally Fills Up Developer Considers Building Second Office Project orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved September 4 2016 Patrizio Ron August 23 1987 Historic Label No Guarantee Beacham Theater s Owner May Raze Old Downtown Building For New One orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 10 2016 The Beacham Theater has served as a city hall vaudeville playhouse and movie theater In 1975 it closed as a movie theater and reopened a year later as the Great Southern Music Hall It finally closed as the Celebrity Dinner Theater in January a b c d e Long Live The Beacham Central Florida Magazine February 1989 p 12 a b Mathers Sandra December 22 1991 Theater Plans Holiday Treat For Homeless The Orlando Sentinel Orlando Retrieved October 13 2016 The sit down dinner is the brainchild of Brad and Lisa Belletto whose Entertainment Investments company operates the theater and jazz club Belletto said he patterned the dinner after a similar theater event he was involved with in New Orleans a b c Beacham Theatre Returns 1988 Brad Belletto Jackson Jerry October 31 1992 State Files To Revoke Club s Liquor License orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 20 2016 A Longwood businesswoman who owns the historic Beacham Theatre building in which the nightclub was located said she hopes to see some kind of similar club operation continue We want something in there that Orlando can be proud of said Missy Casscells a property manager who owns the Beacham building on Orange Avenue Casscells 32 said she has owned the Beacham building since May 1989 She said it was acquired from Oscar Juarez a well known Orlando businessman and Republican party activist for about 1 8 million Casscells said she and her husband Frank Hamby manage their family owned property a b c d e f g h i j k l Kelemen Matt September 2 1998 Wizards of Aahz The Florida winter had ju orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved November 30 2015 Collins could not be aware of it at the time but those Saturday nights eventually known as Aahz would kick start an underground culture and spawn countless DJ careers Orlando would never be the same By 1991 1992 Orlando experienced its own summer of love through the culture that sprang up around the weekend acid house nights at the Beacham Theatre presided over by Collins and Dave Cannalte and nurtured by Beacham promoter StaceBass only New York San Francisco and L A had similar scenes and they were characterized by warehouse parties Orlando had a headquarters in the heart of its downtown district From then on the crowds would refer to the Beacham as Aahz no matter what the owners called it a b Moyer Matthew November 21 2017 Orlando lord of the dance Kimball Collins is serious about throwing a party orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved September 23 2019 The last thing on DJ and Orlando dance music linchpin Kimball Collins mind back during the fabled Orlando Summer of Love in the early 1990s was that he would someday be responsible for preserving the legacy of Florida Breaks pull ing from the many different eras and incarnations of AAHZ Pure NRG World War III Egypt Collins explains that this is a celebration of an era when Orlando was ground zero for a new type of dance music and a survey of how that music has changed over the years Florida and Central Florida in particular gravitated heavily to all types of genres that relied on a type of break beat from electro techno freestyle Miami bass to straight up U K rave breaks Those influences went on to develop what would soon become the signature Florida break beat sound That explains Orlando audiences love of breaks and why we celebrat e this style a b c Aahz 89 Quintessential New Beat w DJ Joe Ed Info waxdj com WaxDJ March 25 2008 Retrieved September 1 2016 DJ Joe Ed was one of the founding fathers of Aahz Orlando with Stace Bass and Steve McClure until he handed the reigns off to Dave Cannalte and Kimball Collins who made Aahz what we remember to this day He was also the house DJ and co founder with Stace Bass of club World War III which he promoted on these recordings Recorded on an average Friday Night at Beacham Theaters Orlando Aahz Then known as Transcentral a b Montes De Oca Mark May 5 2008 John Digweed Radio pandora com Pandora Archived from the original on October 19 2016 Retrieved September 2 2016 Digweed came to the United States through Orlando FL and had this to say about that night It wasn t until 1993 when I did a big party in Orlando that it kicked things off for Sasha and I The kids there were really into it whereas you could have gone to any other state and they wouldn t have got it That party Digweed was speaking of took place at Aahz Nightclub in Orlando Florida s Beacham Theater a nightclub that was actually a functioning theater during its normal operating hours However at 3 00am on Saturday nights Aahz would open its doors to the then hugely popular and extremely underground Rave scene of the early 1990s Orlando was Florida s epicenter for the burgeoning scene at the time and Aahz nightclub was the undisputed king of that dance culture in the early to mid nineties No other club in Florida s history can lay hold of the kind of acclaim that Aahz nightclub can It s sic resident DJ Kimball Collins along with opener Dave Cannalte were a few of the undisputed heavyweights of the early nineties in Central Florida it s Aahz that was most responsible for putting and keeping Florida on the map in regards to underground dance music culture in the early nineties AK1200 s True Dedication to Drum amp Bass Bassrush August 11 2014 Retrieved November 22 2019 a b c d e f Milo Christopher January 23 2017 Ep 030 DJ Three Burning Man Regular DJ Three Has Some Thoughts on the Rise of Playa Tech Rave Curious Podcast DJ Three Interview Interviewed by Joshua Glazer New York Thump Retrieved January 26 2017 Abbott Jim December 6 1991 Public Enemy To Play Orlando The Orlando Sentinel Orlando Retrieved October 12 2016 Saturday the Beacham Theatre will host DJ Unity for the World a dance party featuring the talents of Central Florida club deejays Jerry the Reverend Johnson Lisa Belletto Andy Hughes Jay Skinner Robby Clark Troy Davis DJ Ice the Dave Cannalte and Kimball Collins a b c Chris Fortier Much More Than Progressive JIVE Magazine July 26 2005 Archived from the original on August 14 2007 Retrieved August 16 2016 Chris s long 15 year trajectory as a highly successful label and record pool owner DJ producer and remixer has all influenced the impact of dance music in America His roots can be traced to the early 1990s in Orlando Florida where he was spotted by DJ Icey and quickly heralded by Kimball Collins as resident at the Aahz nightclub These nights served as a platform to bring Sasha and John Digweed to America for the first time and establish the early progressive sound that would become synonymous with clubbers and DJs alike for years to come a b Ferguson Jason Le Huu Bao July 3 2013 The Places The venues and club nights that propelled Orlando s EDM culture in the 90s orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved July 28 2016 AAHZ Unanimously cited as the mother of the movement this seminal dance night at the Beacham Theater cultivated the late night dance soil in the early 80s that made the massive 90s explosion possible With an emphasis on the then nascent European acid house sound AAHZ vaulted the international DJ careers of residents Kimball Collins Dave Cannalte and Chris Fortier It also debuted stars like Sasha Digweed Cosmic Baby and Dave Seaman in Florida before closing in 1992 Salzer Rick May 1 1999 Sasha Digweed Stay Busy Billboard Vol 111 no 18 New York Nielsen Business Media Inc Retrieved August 2 2016 Sasha and Digweed began crossing the Atlantic in order to DJ in clubs in the U S Their first stop was Aahz a seminal club in Orlando Fla Hutchinson Kate April 12 2016 Sasha There were thousands of people in front of me and I was losing the plot The Guardian Retrieved July 27 2016 Sasha has always been embraced by the US He started off there playing massive parties in Orlando Brewster Bill Broughton Frank July 26 2005 Interviews Sasha djhistory com DJ History Archived from the original on July 11 2016 Retrieved July 26 2016 Do you think with what you and John Digweed did in Twilo you had a taste of that in inspiring America Maybe I think the scene was already really going developing I think probably what we did in Orlando a few years before even though we didn t have a regular club there but just the fact we were going to Orlando every two or three months and doing these massive parties there I went out first and then a while later John came out and then the Chemical Brothers We were some of the first ones to go out there and then it really opened up a b c Aahz An era of Electronic Music Orlando AllOut com Orlando AllOut January 24 2015 Retrieved June 4 2015 If you re from Hawaii Ohana means family if you lived in Orlando in the 90s AAHZ meant and still means family AAHZ was a late night event that was held at The Beacham nightclub back in the late 80s early 90s It was so much more than just a night at a club though It was more of a family reunion every time you walked through the doors This was in the era where PLUR Peace Love Unity Respect was still the main player at these sort of events This was back in the day before distractions like cell phones and digital cameras were in everyone s hands and it was just you the crowd and the DJ The time when music connected people in a way that very few will ever understand People came from all over the state to attend the famed AAHZ events This was a place where you could go and totally let loose without fear of judgment by others People came to AAHZ for the music and the vibe The way the DJ s were able to use their turntables to emotionally connect so many different people through their music could not be duplicated anywhere They quite literally had the mood of the entire room in their hands behind the decks People thrived off of this new underground culture that was being introduced to Orlando through these AAHZ events AAHZ was in a league of its own in the Orlando club scene hosting international talents like Sasha and John Digweed but little did anyone know what AAHZ would do for its resident DJ s Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalate Both have become international superstars and a slew of other AAHZ regular customers like Andy Hughes and DJ Icey were not too far behind them There is no doubt that AAHZ and its DJ s helped put Orlando on the map and in the forefront of the entire Electronic Dance Music movement across the United States There really is no way to adequately convey the true meaning or raw emotion of what AAHZ was or why so many people considered it to be home Unfortunately AAHZ came to an end in 1992 and with that came the end of an era for the Orlando club scene and Orlando Electronic Dance Music as a whole The days of AAHZ may never be able to be totally recreated as it once was however AAHZ holds their reunion in Downtown Orlando every year where they make sure that old school vibe is still in full effect People who were involved in it during its peak fly in from all around the country just to attend and reclaim their little piece of perfect that used to reside in the heart of Downtown Orlando dead link a b Jimmy Van M protonradio com Proton Radio 2000 Retrieved September 2 2016 Jimmy started mixing in early 1992 He started off by doing guest spots at The Beacham Theater for Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalte After The Beacham closed he took a 1 year residency with Kimball at Barbarella s Lift night The Beacham reopened for the Reunion Parties he began doing guest spots there with DJ s like Sasha John Digweed and Dave Seaman In mid 1994 The Beacham Theater had closed for good Jimmy then started taking guest spots up and down the East Coast McCollum Thaddeus November 22 2016 AAHZ reunion celebrates Florida musical history with a night of bumping bass and breaks orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved November 23 2016 But one era of our history that deserves to be acknowledged on a regular basis is that period of time back in the early 90s when our collective finger was on the pulse of the future of dance music Predating the current trap and EDM boom by decades the mix of Miami bass hip hop and house that came to be known as Florida Breaks was prescient even if it all eventually imploded once concerned parents and politicians started to take notice This week s AAHZ reunion hearkens back to those days with a lineup that looks like it s straight off of a flyer from 1993 a b c d A short history of Orlando s relationship with the club scene orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly December 30 2015 Retrieved August 20 2016 1988 According to a 1988 story in Orlando Weekly DJ Kimball Collins discovers an acid house night happening at the old Beacham Theater in Orlando and before long he morphs it into AAHZ the house music dance party that attracts people from all over Florida and turns Orlando into an epicenter for club culture 1992 AAHZ at the Beacham comes to an end after struggling to compete with newer dance clubs like the Abyss and Club Firestone 1993 The Orange County Convention Center is home to a massive rave called Infinite which would return to the venue for three consecutive years 1993 DJ Kimball Collins introduces a new night called Reunion at a club called Dekko s 1993 The Dust Brothers later known as the Chemical Brothers headline a massive rave at the Edge Nightclub in downtown Orlando giving birth to an electronic dance music scene that would eventually sweep the nation 1994 A female patron of a dance party called Reunion collapses and dies Reunion is canceled for good three weeks later Guinto Liesl August 1 1993 All The Rave orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 16 2016 The Orlando rave scene can trace its roots back almost five years to the old Beacham Theatre in downtown Orlando also known as Aahz With an atmosphere all its own multilevel dance floor theater set up and hypnotizing light shows Aahz became such a monument to late night raves that when it closed its doors last September to make way for Dekkos Orange Avenue was packed until late Sunday morning with loyal patrons paying tribute to their favorite dance house Other clubs followed in the footsteps of Aahz including The Edge in downtown Orlando The Coliseum in Daytona Beach and Marz in Cocoa Beach Guida Humberto November 21 2014 Candy Ravers and Psychonauts The Florida Rave Scene insomniac com Insomniac Archived from the original on September 21 2016 Retrieved August 17 2016 The 90s was a formative time for American rave culture as the scene was already booming in the UK It found its way to New York Los Angeles and San Francisco but it was in that Southeastern tourist trap known as Orlando Florida where American rave culture took off in a big way AAHZ a late 80s mid week party at the old Beacham Theater served as the precursor to the Florida rave scene But it was really the summer of 1993 at a club called the Edge where a series of underground music events Gettelman Parry February 9 1997 The Orlando Sound Although Hard To Define It s Hot Among Lovers Of Underground Dance Music orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved November 5 2015 Orlando club kids first encountered the style in the late 80s at the old Beacham Theatre on Orange Avenue where DJs such as Kimball Collins Dave Cannalte Chris Fortier and Andy Hughes got their start at Aahz dance nights Le Huu Bao November 28 2015 AAHZ respects the breaks that made Orlando global overdue propers for DJ Stylus The Beacham orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved July 28 2016 The AAHZ days though absolutely foundational were an elementary phase in the late 80s and early 90s that heavily featured European house sounds But the breaks a breakbeat subgenre braided of hip hop Miami bass and electro was the Orlando sound our original chapter and contribution to the EDM world And when the breaks surged in the mid 90s it was the Orlando dance scene at its apex when we weren t just playing the leading sounds but making and exporting them Le Huu Bao December 2 2015 This Little Underground AAHZ honors Orlando s breaks legacy orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly Retrieved August 19 2016 Romero Dennis June 13 2016 Before L A Orlando Was a Club Culture Capital laweekly com L A Weekly Retrieved June 17 2016 But there was a time when a much smaller city dominated domestic EDM and influenced the global emergence of the DJ as a superstar performer That place was Orlando Florida a b Weir John 1997 Hot kids with Macs Sound and their own records labels are turning the pre fab Disney backwater of Orlando FL into the Seattle of Electronica Rolling Stone No 767 Orlando Rolling Stone via AM Soul Records Archived from the original on August 23 2016 Retrieved July 29 2016 Best Homage to Orlando s EDM Heritage AAHZ s These Are the Breaks event orlandoweekly com The Orlando Weekly August 24 2016 Retrieved August 24 2015 EDM is a major worldwide player in music again but shockingly few realize that Orlando was both epicenter and forefront of the original American dance boom of the 90s We were up there with the usual hotbeds like NYC London Chicago and LA with our legendary parties and clubs But what really certifies us is that we weren t just an army of followers but innovators with our own original sound that caught fire and inspired a whole generation of nu skool breaks across the pond And AAHZ s These Are the Breaks reunion party at the Beacham was a prime nostalgic capsule of that golden era 2 Women Fall Ill At Club In Orlando 1 Is Dead orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel May 2 1994 Retrieved August 8 2016 A 20 year old Melbourne woman died and an 18 year old Lake Mary woman is in critical condition after both collapsed from what Orlando police think were drug overdoses at a downtown nightclub Sunday morning Leithauser Tom June 18 1995 Drugs Facing Agony Of Ecstasy orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 10 2016 Woman Dies Of Apparent Drug Overdose Police Say orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel July 6 1994 Retrieved July 29 2016 In the earlier death 20 year old Teresa Schwartz of Melbourne collapsed May 1 outside of Dekko s Night Club on Orange Avenue downtown Her purse contained canisters of nitrous oxide a widely available anesthetic gas The exact cause of Schwartz s death won t be known until laboratory tests are completed a b Simon Reynolds June 19 2013 Generation Ecstasy Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture Routledge pp 315 ISBN 978 1 136 78316 6 Simon Reynolds March 1 2012 Energy Flash A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture Counterpoint LLC ISBN 978 1 59376 477 7 permanent dead link Sherri Owens April 4 1997 Task Force Tackles Drug Use In Nightclubs orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 5 2016 At least two potential solutions to the drug problems at Orlando s all night parties emerged Thursday at the first meeting of the city s Rave Review Task Force Orlando has the biggest rave scene in Florida Schneider Mike September 10 1997 All Night Raves Banned By Orlando Ordinance Attempt To Diminish Drug Use Leads To Restrictions On City s Bars And Nightclubs seattletimes nwsource com The Seattle Times Retrieved August 5 2016 On Monday the Orlando City Council voted 5 2 to shut down the city s bars and nightclubs at 3 a m Nelson Chris September 10 1997 Orlando Fla Cracks Down On All Night Raves MTV com MTV Retrieved August 5 2016 On Monday the Orlando general assembly upheld the state bill to axe raves after hour dance parties voting to force venues that serve alcohol to shut their doors at 3 a m one hour after last call Early Entertainment Venues Evolved From Opera House To Movie Theaters orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel January 28 1996 Retrieved August 21 2016 the former site of the county jail where hangings once were conducted and built the Beacham Theater Air conditioning was installed in the 30s It later was home to Laser World then to Moulin Orange a Las Vegas style cabaret that lasted four months in 1983 84 and then to Valentyne s Celebrity Dinner Theatre which opened in 1987 a b ECW hardcore wrestling prowrestlinghistory com Pro Wrestiling History January March 2000 Retrieved November 22 2016 January 29 2000 in Orlando FL Zuma Beach Club drawing 800 a b c Emmons M F July 9 2000 Beacham Theatre May live Again orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved August 10 2016 a b Tabu is now The Beacham orlandosentinel com The Orlando Sentinel January 6 2011 Retrieved August 10 2016 John SanFelippo and George Maltezos co owners of Tabu have partnered with Gerard Mitchell and Michael McRaney co owners of The Social in opening the newly named venue at 46 N Orange Ave The Social and The Beacham are next door neighbors Fans of Tabu need not fret because the weekend lineup will stay the same Gillespie Ryan November 4 2019 The Beacham s renovation plans will take it back to early Orlando It should be a showpiece The Orlando Sentinel Retrieved November 4 2019 Rabines Amanda October 21 2019 Beacham Theater in downtown Orlando may be getting major makeover Growthspotter Retrieved November 4 2019 a b c The Great Southern Music Hall Orlando Concert Setlists setlist fm Retrieved August 7 2016 a b Staff Jim Abbott of The Sentinel ROCK VETERANS LYNYRD SKYNYRD TO PLAY AT THE ARENA ON OCT 1 OrlandoSentinel com Retrieved November 21 2019 Thompson Gavin August 10 1990 PATO BANTON MAKES HIS MUSIC A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE Pato Banton Retrieved November 21 2019 Staff Parry Gettelman of The Sentinel THE CHILI PEPPERS ARE STILL HOTTER THAN EVER OrlandoSentinel com Retrieved November 21 2019 Moyer Matthew Reggae legends the Wailers to play the Beacham this week Orlando Weekly Retrieved November 21 2019 Staff Jim Abbott of The Sentinel NEIL YOUNG TO BLOW INTO TOWN LIKE A HURRICANE OrlandoSentinel com Retrieved November 21 2019 Staff Jim Abbott of the Sentinel HARD ROCK TO HOST ZZ TOP S FIRST LIVE SHOW IN 3 YEARS OrlandoSentinel com Retrieved November 21 2019 The Beacham Orlando Clubplanet nightlife directory clubplanet com Clubplanet 2016 Retrieved August 3 2016 The Beacham beachamorlando com The Beacham 2013 Retrieved July 29 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beacham Theatre amp oldid 1178035409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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