I love a theater with history and 1920's architecture and I found both in the Polk Theatre in downtown Lakeland. This 1,400-seat theatre was designed by architect James E. Casale and built in 1928 when the town of Lakeland had only 15,000 residents. The Polk Theatre opened on December 22, 1928 with Pauline Frederick in "On Trial". This theatre has the distinction of having the first air conditioning system in the county which pumped artesian well water to cool the building. Other features of the theatre include a mezzanine, a high balcony, a Venetian piazza backdrop, an orchestra pit, a cloud ceiling against which images of twinkling stars are projected, and terrazzo flooring. In 1941 the Polk Theatre was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary E.J. Sparks. In December 1978 it was taken over by Plitt Theatres. On September 23, 1984 the theatre was closed for low attendance after a showing of Jim Henson's "The Muppets Take Manhattan". A group of concerned people got together to save the historic theatre from demolition. It was purchased for $300,000 with a grant from the state. On October 15, 1984 the Polk Theatre reopened as a performing arts venue. The Polk Theatre was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Today the theatre has a live performing arts series as well as independent films and special events. In December the event calendar is filled with classic films and a performance of the Nutcracker. Tickets can be purchased through the Polk Theatre website. read more

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We went here for the first time, having bought tickets back in February for an August show. So our seats were great at the center front row balcony. These seats were pretty good and afford you a rail platform in front of you to securely place your drinks. The seats were not uncomfortable. If you are of a shorter stature you may need to lean forward during any live performance to see the entire stage, at least from near dead center seats. My/our only real complaint was the lack of some serious air conditioning up there. I can't tell you if my thinking on this is correct, as we never experienced the orchestra seating temps. I realize that heat rises and it was a sold out show, but still it made for a slightly uncomfortable time. The acoustics for a comedy show was pretty good and I wondered how a concert would be up there. The folks sitting next to us were veterans of this theater and recommended sitting in the orchestra area for concerts, thus since we did not hate this venue we purchased tickets to a couple of upcoming tribute bands, seats within the first 5 rows and seats in the very back row of the orchestra level. The staff were all very pleasant and made you feel welcomed. The architecture within was wonderful to look at. The restrooms were clean and of good size for an old theater. The concessions were extremely reasonable compared to other venues, with nothing over $4! That included beer and wine. read more

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Fun and different experience than the traditional move theatre. They sell very reasonably priced snacks and drinks, and the theatre has been well kept for the number of years that it's been there. My partner loves older movies, so this is right up his alley. I enjoyed the theatre but not so much the older movies. read more

Polk Theatre - Lobby - Performing Arts Near Me - Lakeland, Florida

Beautiful venue, stellar staff, sound and video were top notch. They show great movies and have excellent live entertainment before the movie....an organist! read more

Not too many of these old time atmospheric theaters are still around. This one is a nice example. You feel like you are in plaza in Italy or France in the 1800's. The polo theater is full of beautiful touches from the 1920s and I advice you arrive early so you can really take along look around. Everything from the tole in the floor to faux windows inside is well done and thought out. They show classics dieting the days and concerts etc at night. Today they were showing the sound of music. This and many another classics have never been seen by many on the big screen and I don't. Ean. 110 inch 4K. Do yourself a favor and come see a favorite here in the big screen licks it was meant to be seen surrounded by the beauty which is the Polk theater. If you enjoy this one seek out the Olympia in Miami during the Mai Miami film festival. The interior of that is amazing. read more

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Adorable place. There are a wide variety of shows for all types of people. The prices are reasonable, the staff is friendly, and the concessions are fairly priced. It's a great place to enjoy company and meet new people. One of the great things about this theater is that it feels familiar yet so far in the past. read more

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Tonight was our first Polk Theater experience and we loved it. This beautiful vintage theater is pretty magnificent. The detailed theming is such artfully preserved that it makes seeing a movie a special event again. They even have a huge balcony with plenty of seats. As we walked into the theater we could hear organ music playing and were happily surprised to see an organist playing live. They have a small concession stand with popcorn, pretzels, hotdogs, candy, sodas, beer and wine. Prices were good. We saw Love, Gilda tonight and really enjoyed learning more about Gilda Radner. The staff in the theater were all nice and friendly. We are looking forward to our next experience at The Polk Theater. read more

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I purchased tickets for the Nutcracker ballet at this theatre and was super excited to go to my 1st ballet with my boyfriend because it would be his 1st ballet as well. However, 2 days before the event, I got very sick and wasn't able to go, so I started trying calling and emailing the theatre to no avail. No employee or mgr would contact me back. The event day came and went. Tried calling them on the Monday (1st day) after the weekend event, no response. 2 days after the event, I tried one last attempt, & was finally able to speak to an employee, who wasn't being very kind or understanding of my reason that I needed a refund & that I never even used my tickets because I was so sick. She offered to have her mgr call me back. When the Polk Theatre Mgr finally called me back, he was using a very crass cold firm tone with me, declaring he would not issue a refund, even after I mentioned it was Christmastime, and I was still sick, and I would be out-of-pocket, $144!! He didn't care. No compassion, no understanding, no refund. So I had to dispute this with my credit card company who immediately issued me a refund. Just look at all the turmoil I had to go through with this theatre and the service company they use for ticket selling. I will NEVER go to any performance at this theatre, ever. As for that Mgr, I hope God has mercy on him. read more

A unique Lakeland destination. I saw many great movies here in HS. The most memorable was the Concert For Bangladesh. read more

We attended a marvelous two-person play at the Polk Theatre last Thursday. While the play was wonderful, my review is for the venue. This is one of the most intriguing theatres I've ever been to, and we are quite fortunate to have this grand building in our community. Architecturally it is not particularly remarkable from the exterior, but inside it is a real gem. The interior of the theatre near the stage resembles an outdoor setting with faux building fronts and a sky-like ceiling, the balcony is a large sweeping floor accessible by stairs at the back of the theatre. A third level leads to the highest reaches of the balcony. We had the pleasure of attending the reopening of the theatre in the 1990s after a careful restoration; the first show was the movie Casablanca. I have also seen Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo at the Polk, and a number of theatrical performances. I've only viewed one movie from the balcony; usually we are downstairs, and we have always been pleased with the seats, sound, and view. The refreshment stand is in the rear of the theatre and has a good selection of treats. Don't miss the Polk Theatre! read more

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This is a great theater! Staff is very friendly and concessions are inexpensive. It is similar to the Tampa Theater, a bit smaller but way better seating. read more

The ambience of the venue is amazing and is a true throwback to an era of entertainment that is lacking in most areas. My only qualm with the Polk Theatre is that they lack an appeal to bring in more modern shows and movies. We live in Central Florida and as the belt buckle of the state I would highly recommend the venue work harder to bring in acts/movies that are geared towards a younger/middle aged audience. Until then, I will still travel to St. Pete, Tampa and Orlando for great music and independent shows. read more

We have attended many films and special events from plays, concerts, even an ABBA tribute and live Rocky Horror Picture Show. A beautiful historic theatre that's reminiscent of "the golden age" with a mezzanine lobby, ornately tiled staircase, and terrazzo floors. The most spectacular is a starry ceiling painted a deep, royal blue, with twinkling stars and sunrise/sunset effect. I feel transcended when there. I wish they were able to offer more frequent events! read more

Truly a blast from the past. I've been there for several Classic movies in the late summer / early autumn of both 2016 & 2017. The organist before the movies and hot popcorn is an added treat. My wish would be that Classic movies would be shown once or twice a month - late Sunday afternoon, throughout the entire year. read more

I love historic theaters, they serve beer and wine and the popcorn was good. I love the organist playing songs including Beauty and the Beast before the movie. Get there early to get the music before the show. read more

I have to update this post to compliment Laura Milton, Administrative Manager for the Theatre. Laura helped me with a special event and was a most charming, gracious and accommodating hostess and guide. Our group and our Theatre event was very small, but was important and meaningful to us! She is an asset to the Theatre and a wonderful lady! read more