The Hippodrome Theatre (often referred to by residents as the Hipp) is a regional professional theatre in downtown Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1980 by local actors. The address is 25 Southeast 2nd Place.
The building itself was completed in 1911, and served as a U.S. Post Office (on the first floor) and a Courthouse of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (on the second floor). It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1979.
The interior is in good condition, maintaining much of the original walls, doors and beams from its Post Office and Courthouse era. It is a relatively small location, with a 266-seat thrust-stage Main stage theatre on the second floor and 80-seat cinema space on the first floor. The Hippodrome building also has one of the oldest working elevators in Florida which requires the operator to manually close the screen, the door, and then pull a crank to operate.
The Hippodrome uses professional actors and has its own set designers, costume designers, sound engineers and lighting engineers for each of its main stage productions. It also provides youth theatre education classes. The Hippodrome features Broadway and off Broadway productions and art house films.
The Hippodrome provides arts education for all ages, including classes & camps, in-school programs, workshops and behind-the-scenes opportunities for adults.
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—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air: the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.”
—Eleonora Duse (1858–1924)