CELEBRATING
100 YEARS
NEW CLIENT SPECIAL
5 Classes for $35
BEGINNER SPECIAL
1 Month Unlimited Classes for $75
772.925.9697
Open 7 days
FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
www.indianriverbikram.com
a week
CHECK WEBSITE
Seaway Plaza - 602 N. U.S. Hwy 1 | Fort Pierce 34950
© 2017 Mindbody, Inc. All rights reserved. Mindbody and the Mindbody logo are registered trademarks of Mindbody, Inc.
HISTORY OF THE
SUNRISE THEATRE
• Aug. 1, 1923: Sunrise Theatre opens with movies The Famous
Mrs. Fair, a silent film with Myrtle Stedman, and The Vagabond with
Charlie Chaplin. The theater was built by R.N. “Pop’’ Koblegard.
• 1928: First movie with sound — Street Angel with Janet
Gaynor and Charles Farrell — is played at the theater. Rupert
Koblegard Jr. becomes manager.
• 1930s: Artist A.E. “Bean” Backus paints posters and promotional
sets for the theater.
• 1940: concession stand installed.
• By 1948: new triangular marquee replaces original square
one, providing space for removable letters to display film and
actor names. Today, the restored marquee closely resembles
the original.
• By 1950: air conditioning installed — one of the first in the state.
• 1955: Sunrise Theatre interests, but not the building, sold to
First Southeast Corp.
• 1960s: Kent Theatres takes over operation of the theater.
• 1983: Sixty years after it opened, the theater closes as businesses
moved to the west and attendance dwindled.
• 1997: Main Street Fort Pierce as the St. Lucie Preservation Association
purchases the theater portion of the property for $50,000.
• 1999: St. Lucie Preservation Association purchases front part
of the building from the Koblegards for $405,000 and begins
renovation in 2000. The theater is restored to former glory
in the next five years, looking as much as possible like it did
before it closed.
• Jan. 14-15, 2006: Reopens with stellar performances by
Dionne Warwick
• Dec. 1, 2007: Named to the National Register of Historic Places
• July 2006: Main Street Fort Pierce donated the theater to the
City of Fort Pierce, which now operates it.
• June 2007: Executive director John Wilkes arrives.
• 2009: Black Box Theatre opens within the Sunrise building;
• 2018: Sharon Engle becomes the executive director.
• 2020: Theatre closes March 12 due to COVID-19. In June, the
Black Box Theatre reopens with COVID safeguards.
• 2021: In August, Sunrise receives a $1.09 million Shuttered Venue
Operators Grant, followed by a second $548,000 grant to defray
operating expenses such as maintenance, staff and equipment.
• 2021-22: The Sunrise gradually increases its shows, still having
to deal with abrupt cancellations by performers who fell ill
but bookings increase in 2022. The theater also increased its
local rentals.
Source: Main Street Fort Pierce, the Sunrise Theatre, Koblegard family
photos and news accounts
54 www.sunrisetheatre.com
/www.indianriverbikram.com
/www.indianriverbikram.com
/www.sunrisetheatre.com