A scene of shared memories

We opened our newest temporary exhibit, Cinema and the Sunshine State, at the Tampa Bay History Center with a reception for our members and members of Tampa Theatre. It was a gathering of movie buffs, history hounds, and stalwart supporters exploring a century of material culture around filmmaking in Florida.

It was a joy to watch concentrated, collective attention come to life in a single exhibit, the multiple strands of interest and curiosity unfurling through nostalgic movie posters, antique projectors, and the familiar iconography of movies set against the backdrop of the ever-evocative Florida landscape.

The artifacts and images sparked memories of which films people saw, where they were, who they were with, what the films meant to them, and how movie-going has changed over time, just as the places where we watch movies have changed. Memories of movie-going abounded.

And those familiar faces on the posters—Robert Wagner, Esther Williams, Jerry Lewis—sat alongside stories rooted firmly in this place: the filming of Beneath the 12-Mile Reef in Tarpon Springs; Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Florida landscape that became part of its mythology.

The exhibit is multifaceted, multilayered, and it invites you in so many ways. There is an inherent joy to it: an exploration of movie-going, yes, but also a celebration. The zing and zest in the room were palpable.

There is something about gathering people with different memories, histories, and points of reference to witness something together that feels akin to the movie-going experience of my youth. A little pomp and circumstance. The excitement of witnessing something yourself – and witnessing someone else witnessing it, too.

I can’t wait to see what the public says about this exhibit. The memories it sparks. Which artifact kicks off a research chase. Which story brings people back again and again.