The story
The building opened in 1917 as the Rivoli Theatre, a silent movie house with apartments upstairs that catered to the Afro-Cuban community. Its first big draw in 1918 was the war film Over the Top. An expansion in 1931 led to the Ritz Theatre name. As Ybor City declined and TV and the suburbs pulled audiences away, the Ritz turned to adult shows. It was also called the Ritz Burlesque Theater in the mid-1960s, and a county court injunction banned a film in 1970.
A bank foreclosure in 1987 closed it. The Masquerade nightclub leased the building that year and ran it from 1992 to 2006, hosting rising alternative acts. The tenants were evicted in 2006, and a $2 million renovation reopened it on June 26, 2008 as The Ritz Ybor, a live music and events venue with a capacity of 1,114.
What's There Now
It is a live music and events venue with three rooms, the Royal Room, the Rivoli Room and the Theatre Ballroom.
Everything that was here
- 1917–present · still open
The Ritz YborTheater
One Ybor City building has been a silent-movie house, a burlesque theater, the Masquerade nightclub and a modern concert hall.
See the map in 1918 → - 1992–2006
MasqueradeNightclub
Nightclub that hosted rising alternative acts until its tenants were evicted.
See the map in 1993 → - 1917–1931
Rivoli TheatreTheater
Silent movie house with apartments upstairs, opened in 1917.
See the map in 1918 →
Did you know?
Nearby history
Carne Chophouse
Hotel Haya
Circulo Cubano de Tampa (Cuban Club)
Ybor Square
El Pasaje / Cherokee Club
L'Unione Italiana (Italian Club)
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