Save the Olympia: Miami's most historic theater is at risk

Miami Herald

4 days ago

The Olympia Theater is about to be given away by the Miami city commission this Thursday — quietly, with no input from cultural or downtown stakeholders, no public discussion of the options and certainly no transparent, charter-mandated procurement process.
Instead of restoring one of Miami's most iconic historic landmarks, the city is preparing to hand it over to a charter school company. This isn't a cultural plan. It's a shortcut. And it risks permanently losing a civic treasure that generations have fought to preserve.
I'm a Miami-based Cuban American who has spent my career building ambitious, sustainable arts institutions. I'm a Juilliard-trained pianist and co-founder of Le Poisson Rouge in New York, a venue that helped redefine what a performance space can be.
I've launched orchestras, programmed world-class venues and transformed historic properties into financially viable, artistically vibrant centers of culture.
Over the past several years, I've turned that focus to the Olympia. I've developed a comprehensive proposal for a full revival of the theater and surrounding property — a plan that includes a boutique hotel, a rooftop jazz venue, a cultural ground-floor bar and a dynamic, year-round performance program in the theater itself.
This isn't just conceptual. It has institutional backing. Howard Herring, president of the New World Symphony — one of Miami's most respected cultural leaders — formally endorsed the proposal and offered support to help bring it to life. I've also consulted with leading preservation experts, including architect Richard Heisenbottle, to ensure the plan honors the theater's historic integrity.
The Olympia Theater opened in 1926 as a silent movie theater, one of several along East Flagler Street. It is the only one that remains. The theater features famed opera hall architect John Eberson's Moorish/ Mediterranean Revival style. Throughout its long history, where it has also been known as the Gusman Center, the venue has served as a movie theater, concert venue and performing arts center known for its simulated night sky, complete with clouds and twinkling stars. It also achieved fame as the first air-conditioned building in the South.
In 2022, when the city finally issued a Request for Proposals, it was structurally designed to fail: no financial incentives, no alignment with historic tax credits, no public-private partnership. A $50 million restoration with zero city support. Not surprisingly, no viable proposals came in.
What followed was silence. The city made no effort to revise or reissue the RFP, and no transparent process has followed.
Now, without meaningful public engagement or competitive evaluation, the Olympia is on track to be handed off for non-cultural use.
Let's be clear: a charter school may be valuable in the right location—but it is not a strategy to preserve a historic theater. The Olympia is not a vacant building in search of purpose. It is an irreplaceable public asset. And bypassing cultural stakeholders to quietly repurpose it is a serious breach of public trust.
So I am preparing a new proposal — a bid that meets the legal thresholds but also meets the moment. Because this theater still has a future. But only if we treat it with the seriousness it deserves.
Miami deserves better. Cities that preserve their cultural landmarks build civic pride and lasting value. Cities that cast them aside become poorer — for generations.
The Olympia can still be saved. But only if the public insists on transparency, vision and a commitment to cultural legacy.
I've seen what's possible. And I'm not giving up on what this theater could be for Miami.
Orlando Alonso is a concert pianist, conductor, and arts entrepreneur who has led international cultural projects and revitalization efforts in New York and Miami.