Inside Jacksonville’s Historic — And Haunted? — Florida Theatre, Which Turns 100 Next Year
Categoria: Musica
The nearly century-old venue has hosted acts including Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac and Bon Jovi — and according to some, it’s home to multiple active spirits.
Por Billboard | 30/10/2026
In the summer of 2020, the historic Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Fla., used the COVID-induced halt in touring to take care of some much-needed renovations. The former movie palace — which is now owned by the City of Jacksonville and the non-profit Florida Theatre Performing Arts Center — underwent capital improvements including new lighting, sound and video systems, as well as new seats — save for a pair in the balcony that were restored rather than replaced in honor of the theater’s ghostly friend, “J.” According to multiple employees who spoke with Billboard , the grand, 1,900-seat movie palace — which took over a corner of Forsyth and Newman Streets that was formerly the site of a police station and jail — has hosted several paranormal specialists who claim to have witnessed ghostly activity in Section 500, Row E, Seat 2. This includes a figure seen sitting in the seat on video and sightings of what several have called an orb hovering over it. The alleged ghost haunting this spot got its name after a psychic consultant to a WJCT Public Television production said the apparition called himself J (either for Jay or Joy, an emotion the psychic said J felt for the theater). The psychic also noted that J was there to protect rather than harm. Related How San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Carries Namesake’s Independent Spirit Kenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71 Diddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania “A lot of times when I’m in the theater, there’s only one seat that’s ever up, and it’s always the ghost seat,” says the theater’s marketing director Sarah Kraynik . “There’s not a big sign [that] says ‘Ghost’ or ‘Beware of Ghost.’ It’s just, if you know, you know,” says Florida Theatre president Kevin Stone . While the chairs look like all the others in the building, the theater gets calls from people throughout the year specifically asking to book the ghost seats, Stone says. The theater even sells a bumper sticker that reads, “I sat with the ghosts at the Florida Theatre.” The “ghost seats” at The Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Fla. Courtesy The Florida Theatre “There’s a little bit of a premium to those chairs,” says Stone. “It doesn’t hurt that the ghost seat is in the first row of the middle balcony, so there’s nobody in front of you.” J may not be the only presence hanging around the ornate Mediterranean Revival building. Stone says construction workers have reported paint cans flying through the air and that multiple people have heard an electrical hum coming from unplugged items. Other strange occurrences, he says, include doors closing on their own and reports from theater staff of an unknown figure appearing in the projection booth. “I can’t confirm or deny truth in that, but every now and then you get somebody who has a little feeling that there might be somebody there,” s