Lights! Camera! Florida! Tampa Bay History Center celebrates Sunshine State cinema
Sep 24, 2026
You don't have to drive to Universal Studios Orlando to get cozy with the Gill Man, the titular monster in "Creature From the Black Lagoon."The scaly green fella is getting the star treatment at the Tampa Bay History Center in d
owntown Tampa.He's a big part of "Cinema in the Sunshine State," a playful, colorful salute to hundreds of movies made in Florida.WATCH "NEW EXHIBIT CELEBRATES MOVIEMAKING IN FLORIDA" LIGHTS! CAMERA! FLORIDA!"So a movie like 'Creature From the Black Lagoon' was set in the Amazon, but it was actually filmed in Wakulla Springs in the Panhandle," says Rodney Kite-Powell, historian at the Tampa Bay History Center. "That's what's so great about Florida. It can look like any place that's tropical and even a little bit scary."Movie nerds and pop-culture fanatics will love the exhibit, which honors the old ("Where the Boys Are") and the new ("Moonlight" and "F-1") and all those faves in between ("Edward Scissorhands" and "Parenthood")."Cinema in the Sunshine State" runs until March 21, 2027 and is included with museum admission.For more information on the Tampa Bay History Center, go here. For more Sean Daly fun, follow Sean on Instagram at @seandalytv.
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