Tampa Theatre is giving the public a rare look inside one of the city's most ambitious preservation projects this Sunday, just days before the landmark officially turns 100.

The historic movie palace will hold a free Public Open House on Sunday, October 11, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 711 N. Franklin Street in downtown Tampa.

The event is the public's first opportunity to tour the newly restored Historic Duncan Auditorium after months of work ahead of the theatre's centennial.

Visitors will be able to move through the building, talk with volunteers stationed throughout the theatre, and join mini-tours led by Tampa Theatre staff from the lobby.

A new Digital Guide, designed for guests to use on their own phones or tablets, will add historic photos and information about the building's first century.

At 3 p.m., retired Tampa Theatre CEO John Bell will join current CEO George Levesque onstage for a conversation about the restoration and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

For Tampa residents who have driven past the vertical TAMPA sign for years but never really explored the building, this may be the easiest possible introduction: the event is free and no regular movie ticket is required.

The timing is significant because Tampa Theatre opened on October 15, 1926, making this week the start of its centennial celebration.

Designed by architect John Eberson and built by Paramount Pictures, the theatre was created as an atmospheric movie palace, with ornate Mediterranean-style architecture and a ceiling designed to resemble a night sky.

Tampa Theatre says Eberson considered the building his favorite among the atmospheric theatres he designed, and the venue remains one of the best-preserved examples of that style.

The building's survival was never guaranteed.

By the early 1970s, the theatre was slated for demolition, but residents and community leaders rallied to save it, and the City of Tampa ultimately stepped in to preserve the landmark.

It reopened in 1977 and later earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

The current restoration is part of Tampa Theatre's Second Century Campaign.

The first phase, totaling $24.5 million, includes an authentic restoration of the Duncan Auditorium, infrastructure improvements, work on decorative paint and plaster, preservation of original fixtures and furnishings, and upgrades intended to support the building for decades to come.

The auditorium closed in March for the project and remained out of service through the end of September, making Sunday's open house more than a normal tour.

It is essentially a public first look at what has changed and what has been preserved.

The restoration also reaches beyond cosmetics.

Tampa Theatre has documented work on its famous simulated night sky, including new LED “stars,” along with detailed restoration of ornamental plaster and decorative surfaces.

That careful balance is what makes the project interesting even for people who are not regular moviegoers: the goal is to modernize a working venue without erasing the details that made it special in the first place.

Sunday's event also kicks off a packed centennial week, with classic-film screenings following on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before the official 100th birthday celebration on Thursday, October 15.

The birthday event itself is sold out, which makes the free open house an especially useful chance for the broader community to take part in the milestone.

For longtime Tampa residents, it is an opportunity to see a familiar landmark refreshed.

For newcomers, it is a chance to understand why a century-old movie theatre still occupies such an important place in the city's identity.