Photo by Patrick McCallister
Last act of all was a wrecking crane for Stetson University's Stover Theatre, 535 N. Florida Ave., on Aug.15. The theater was constructed in 1930 and, according to Stetson, was the first building in Florida, and perhaps the South, made expressly for college theater productions. It was named the Little Theatre, perhaps in nod to the much larger Athens Theater that was about four blocks south on Florida Avenue. Stover was built without the benefit of an architect, and appeared very similar to the Athens. By 1938, the theater was renamed in honor of Dr. Irvin Stover, who ran Stetson's performing arts program.