The seats have been removed from downtown Jacksonville's historic Florida Theatre, with more than 500 sold as souvenirs to fans of the venue.
But two of the 1,950 seats are being preserved. The theater, which dates back to 1927, has long rumored to be haunted. Two seats in the upper balcony, in particular, have drawn the attention of ghost-hunters over the years.
Those two seats — Balcony E1 and E2 — are being shipped to Michigan to be refurbished.
"We did not want our ghost to be homeless if his or her seat went away permanently," said Numa Saisselin, president of the theater. "They are the only two seats being restored. Every other seat is being replaced. Hopefully the ghost does not mind being without his or her seat for a few weeks."
Before the theater was built, the property was the site of a downtown police station and, before that, the St. Marks Hotel, the Hotel Togni and a billiard hall, dating back to 1870.
"Local Haunts," a Jacksonville-based television show that investigates spiritual phenomena, filmed the theater in 2010 and captured inexplicable movements in the balcony.There was speculation at the time that the apparition could be Joseph Hilton, an organist who worked at the theater in the '20s and later committed suicide.
The seats are being replaced as part of a $10 million restoration project at the theater. Because the theater was closed anyway due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the seat replacement project was moved up in the timeline. The new seats are wider than the old ones, and seating capacity will be reduced by about 100. Workers will make patch and paint the floor before installing the new seats and add new handrails in the balcony. Sound and stage lighting systems are also being updated. The project should be completed by Thanksgiving.
Future phases of the renovation involve replastering and painting the elaborate ceiling, improving restrooms and expanding the second-floor lobby into adjacent office space.
The old seats were offered for sale to fans for $50-$100 each to raise money for the refurbishment project. About 500 were sold. Money raised through the sale will go toward the non-profit theater's share of the renovation project. The city, which owns the facility, has pledged to match the theater's contribution, dollar-for-dollar, up to a million dollars per year.
The theater is kicking off a new Adopt-a-Seat program, which allows patrons to have a brass plaque attached to one of the new seats with a name or message. The cost is $1,000 for a seat on the floor and $500 for a balcony seat. Details of the Adopt-a-Seat program can be found at floridatheatre.com/adopt-a-seat/