deter them as they decided to look house various businesses and with
on this project as a “dream come true the theater idea as a secondary
rather than an investment.” consideration, but in spite of its
As in a lot of cases, the dream great size, it is exclusively a place
became a reality. Cocoa and its of amusement. It is a theater of
citizens were proud of this building which all may be proud.”
and Bryan and Cogswell for their Maybe the “Cocoa of the future”
tenacity. The Aladdin Theater was did not materialize in growth as
one of the finest theaters in the other towns in the state turned into
state and Cocoa was probably the cities and metropolises, but the
only town of its size in the whole theater remains, mostly unchanged
country to process “such a magnifi- in appearance, inside and out.
cent structure for entertainment.” We are grateful for those who
Cocoa was served faithfully by saw the potential of this handsome,
Theater, the Kent theaters bought
the Victor Theater until about well-built structure in the down-
the building in 1960 and named it
a month before the Aladdin was town area of Cocoa, now known as
the Fine Arts Theater. The building
completed. The Cocoa Tribune Cocoa Village. We are grateful to
was idle for a while, then sold again
bought the Victor Theater build- those who felt the need to bring the
in 1985 and underwent four years
ing from A. Lemmert, owner and cultural arts back and, through their
of renovations. Now the building,
manager, and moved in shortly tireless efforts, began the restoration
owned by Brevard Community
thereafter. of this building.
College, is known as the Cocoa
This building has seen its share
Village Playhouse.
of changes over the years. The
“... it is really a theater for
Sparks Theater chain bought the
Historic Cocoa Villages still carries the charm
of a by-gone era and looks a lot like it did
the Cocoa of the future,
building in 1939, and it became
almost a century ago.
the city that we can only
the State Theater. This is the name
most of the Mosquito Beaters
faintly visualize.” remember from the 30s, 40s and
— Cocoa Tribune
50s. Following its being the State
August 14, 1924
An editorial in the Cocoa Tribune
dated Aug. 14, 1924, sums it up
quite nicely: “... it is really a the-
ater for the Cocoa of the future,
the city that we can only faintly
visualize. It is really the first build-
ing in Cocoa which reaches so far
into the future of our city, but
with its coming comes the promise
of other fine structures which are
to house various enterprises and
which are to do their part in form-
ing the Cocoa of the future. As
the beginning of this city of our
dreams, the Aladdin will always
hold a unique place in our history.
The Aladdin is also somewhat
unique in being erected for theater
purposes alone. It was not built to
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