The Orlando Downtown Theatre was built in 1920 as a citrus packing plant and eventually an appliance store which still exist today but takes up roughly half of the Downtown Theatre as renovations were made later in time. Rumor has it that this Theatre was a Seminole Burial ground and of course what others do not realize is that the entire area was a fort and battle ground for the Seminole Wars. When the Indians perished they were buried in mounds and shallow graves. But later on when Orlando started to build up they were dug up or built over such burial grounds perhaps making it a site of great residual energy or perhaps angry spirits.

The birth of the theatre was founded as the Tropical Theatre in 1984 which at the time was operated within the small warehouse. The theatre would have plays where various actors and actresses would entertain small crowds. When eventually the popularity of the theatre grew so did its name called now The Downtown Theatre. Then in 1988 just a few years later the roof collapsed and the theatre equipment was damaged it then was shutdown.

In 1989  since the theatre was shut down funds were very difficult to raise. However various artist and patrons did raise enough money to reopen this theatre. During that year actors, directors and volunteers salvaged lights, seats, and other theatrical equipment in the flooded basement. Then they hung plastic sheets to separate the stage and lobby. The plywood and pasteboard  were ripped out since part of theatre at one time had offices from when it was a citrus packing plant. Then finally once everything was complete the first play called David Mamet's American Buffalo was rehearsed. At the time they had no electricity due to owing the city 1000s of dollars in impact fees. So the rehearsal was done by candlelight till it was eventually turned on.

After this play many others would follow such as Lizzie Borden, The Grapes Of Wrath, Death Of A Salesman and much much more. Today the theatre is used for entertainment and as a workshop for high school students who wish to learn more about drama. They can talk to the actors, directors, and attend rehearsals.

So it really has an interesting history. I have read that the roof here has collapsed a few times and that there has been multiple small fires as well. Could it be that the theatre is built on some energy point or is it just angry Seminole Spirits? You decide!

You are not going to see alot of photos from our first investigation however we will return eventually to do more extensive work as this place has a fairly gloomy feeling to it. It surprisingly is not very large and due to its location anybody could easily mistaken it as an adult theatre. But one thing remains true is that this theatre is haunted!

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Rick-AngelOfThyNight