Sunrise Theatre, Fort Pierce

The Sunrise Theatre is a city-owned performing arts theatre built in 1923 at 117 South 2nd Street in downtown Fort Pierce, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The City of Fort Pierce describes the theatre as the city-owned and operated historic, 1,200-seat Sunrise Theatre for the Performing Arts (City of Fort Pierce About page), and the city facility listing places it at 117 S Second Street, Fort Pierce, FL 34947 (City of Fort Pierce facility listing). The National Register nomination gives 117 South 2nd Street with ZIP code 34950 and records the site number SL00799 (NRHP registration form, Sunrise Theatre), and the theatre's own website also uses ZIP code 34950 (Sunrise Theatre contact information).

The sources disagree on who operates the Fort Pierce theatre day to day. The theatre's About page says it is owned and operated by the City of Fort Pierce (Sunrise Theatre About page), while the theatre's FAQ page answers that the Sunrise Theatre is owned by the City of Fort Pierce and managed by VenuWorks (Sunrise Theatre FAQs). Both agree the city is the owner. The city's news list carries an item titled City of Fort Pierce Commissioners Seek Applications for Sunrise Theatre Advisory Board (City of Fort Pierce home page news list).

The Sunrise Theatre opened on Wednesday night, August 1, 1923, to an audience of more than 1,200, as the largest vaudeville theater on Florida's east coast, and it closed in 1983.

The National Register nomination says Fort Pierce entrepreneur Rupert Koblegard built the Sunrise on a former pineapple field of the Sunrise Fruit Company; Miami architect John N. Sherwood designed it in 1922; and the nomination names Clarence E. Cahow as the contractor (NRHP nomination, historical significance). The building cost $150,000, and in May 1923 the excitement over the new theater inspired "The Sunrise City" as the official Fort Pierce slogan. At its opening, many people stood in the balcony, where seats had not yet been installed.

The nomination traces the theater from vaudeville to a movie palace by 1928, notes that a hurricane on August 7, 1928 tore off part of its roof, and says the Sunrise thrived through the 1930s and the Second World War before flagging in 1980 as suburban mall cinemas opened (NRHP nomination, significance). It also records segregation inside the Fort Pierce theater: the balcony seats were reserved for members of what the form calls the "colored" community, who climbed the fire stairs and entered through the north exit, with the small hall inside that door serving as their lobby.

An earlier study funded by a Florida Division of Historical Resources grant found the building had largely kept its architectural and structural integrity, the first phase of restoration, covering the theater portion of the facade with the public entrance and marquee, began in late 1999, and the nomination calls restoring the Sunrise the keystone of the city's historic preservation plan and downtown revitalization program. The form was prepared in September 2001 by staff of the City of Fort Pierce and the Bureau of Historic Preservation and finds the Sunrise significant under Criterion C in architecture, with a period of significance from 1923 to 1951. The theatre's own website says it reopened on January 6, 2006 (Sunrise Theatre history).

The Sunrise is a reinforced concrete building in a blend of Mission and Mediterranean Revival styles, with seven storefront bays on South 2nd Street, a tiled tower above the entrance and an auditorium and fly loft rising behind.

The Fort Pierce nomination describes hollow clay tile walls covered in smooth and textured stucco, a third-story tower lit by four windows separated by cast stone Tuscan columns under a red clay barrel tile hip roof, and storefronts and second-floor offices that made the Sunrise a mixed-use retail, office and entertainment building (NRHP nomination, description). The theatre faces east on South 2nd Street, Fort Pierce's traditional Main Street, half a block south of 2nd Street and Orange Avenue, and from the marquee the Indian River Lagoon and the barrier island are visible down Atlantic Avenue. Inside, the stage is 34 feet deep with tongue-and-groove heart pine flooring, and the 70-foot fly loft held the stock scenery drops used for vaudeville.

Seat counts changed with the restoration. The nomination counts 946 original seats in the Fort Pierce auditorium, while the theatre's FAQ now gives 1214 seats in the Main Theatre and 145 to 210 patrons in the Black Box Theatre depending on setup (Sunrise Theatre FAQs, seating), and the theatre's About page says no seat is further than 85 feet from the stage and that downtown Fort Pierce puts it less than 2 miles from the Fort Pierce City Marina (Sunrise Theatre About page).

Tickets go through the Sunrise Theatre box office at (772) 461-4775 or the theatre's official site, doors open about an hour before show time, and two downtown Fort Pierce parking garages are free to patrons.

The theatre FAQ lists the box office at (772) 461-4775, Monday through Friday from 10am to 2pm, says all sales are final and tickets are non-refundable, and explains that cancelled shows bought by credit card are refunded automatically within 90 days (Sunrise Theatre FAQs, ticketing). Every patron needs a ticket regardless of age, bags must fit an 8 by 10 inch area, and outside food and drink, flash photography and video recording are not allowed. Show listings and prices change, so the theatre's own calendar is the source for them.

For accessibility, the Fort Pierce theatre lists accessible seating sold through the box office, accessible lobby restrooms, a wheelchair lift at the lobby level and hearing assistance devices, with the Box Office Manager at (772)-467-4128 for other needs. Patrons may park free in the 2nd Street Parking Garage at 271 S. 2nd St and the Orange Avenue Parking Garage at 100 N. US1, and parking behind the theatre is prohibited (Sunrise Theatre FAQs, parking and accessibility).

On the street, the City of Fort Pierce enforces 2-hour parking limits in designated downtown areas Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and parking over 24 hours in city spaces is prohibited unless authorized (Fort Pierce Parking page).

Yes: the Sunrise Theatre rents both the main theatre and the Black Box for private events, and it recruits volunteers aged 16 and up for ushering and office work.

The theatre site describes the historic 1923 Fort Pierce facility as a location for special events and lists Theatre Rentals, Black Box Rentals, technical information and a seating chart under Host an Event (Sunrise Theatre, host an event). Its FAQ says volunteers must be at least 16, available for at least two events a month, and must complete an application and an orientation; interested volunteers email info@sunrisetheatre.com (Sunrise Theatre FAQs, volunteers). Organizations can call (772) 467-4124 about using show tickets for fundraisers, and memberships run from July 1 to June 30.

The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency lists the theatre among the activities of the historic downtown waterfront, with the Farmers Market, Friday Fest and the Jazz Craft Market (Discover Fort Pierce page). The nomination explains why the block matters: the Sunrise building marks the point where the legal business district along South 2nd Street blends into the retail and entertainment heart of downtown, with the historic Fort Pierce Tribune office across the street and the county courthouse to the south (NRHP nomination, setting). It also notes that the triangular marquee with removable letters dates from the 1960s and replaced earlier signs that carried a sunrise-shaped logo.

The Fort Pierce places guide lists the other public venues downtown.

Last verified: October 22, 2026, with the NRHP registration form, the city About, facility, home page news and Parking pages, and the Sunrise Theatre About and FAQ pages, all re-read for this Fort Pierce guide.