Olympia Theater At Gusman Center For The Performing Arts
About Us
The Friends of Gusman Center is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization affiliated with the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts. With the oversight of a dedicated volunteer board of directors, Friends functions as a support organization to the staff of the theater. It works to advance and promote the theater through activities including preservation, restoration, operation, fundraising and marketing. Friends aims to preserve and promote this dynamic, historic community theater to the benefit of its resident companies, artists, patrons and surrounding community.
Tucked into Miami’s contemporary skyline is an enchanting Mediterranean courtyard with shimmering stars and golden balconies. Majestic turrets and towers suggest another era when performances were events, and grand theaters provided a dreamlike escape from the modern world.
The Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts is not just a “venue” – is the jewel of South Florida arts and entertainment facilities, affording South Florida’s diverse community and its international guests a unique cultural experience that defies comparison.
History
Olympia Theater first opened in February 1926 as a silent movie palace and amazed the public with its stunning Moorish architecture, perfect acoustics and simulated night sky - complete with rolling clouds and twinkling stars.
The theater achieved notoriety as the first air-conditioned building in the South. The Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for the Performing Arts owes its distinctive character to architect John Eberson, the master of “atmospheric” theater design and it is one of the few Eberson buildings still standing.
Philanthropist Maurice Gusman saved the theater from demolition and donated it to the City of Miami in 1975. After extensive renovation, overseen in part by famed architect Morris Lapidus, the Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for the Performing Arts is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
