World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater announced Dec. 12 that “The end is here,” a closure that surprised St. Johns County officials.
The theater announced the closure on its website and via social media Dec. 12. Its Facebook post drew 240 reactions and 44 comments.
“The end is here: the IMAX Theater is closed to the public. We truly appreciate and thank you for your patronage and support of the theater for the last 25 years. We will miss you all!”
Google shows the theater as permanently closed and its website shows no scheduled shows.
St. Johns County owns the former World Golf Hall of Fame building and its IMAX movie theater in St. Augustine, leasing the theater to the World Golf Hall of Fame Foundation.
The county had agreed to lease the theater to the foundation through March 2025.
Sarah Arnold, the District 3 representative for the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, said the announcement came as a surprise, but the county is seeking a request for proposals for someone to run the theater. World Golf Village, which includes the IMAX Theater, is in Arnold’s district.
Arnold said she not heard from the foundation about why the theater closed.
“We are just as shocked as the public is, but rest assured the county is currently going through an RFP for someone to manage the IMAX,” Arnold said.
The World Golf Foundation announced in July 2022 that it would close the St. Augustine Hall of Fame and relocate it to Pinehurst, North Carolina. The museum shut down Sept. 1, 2023.
On April 16, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted to purchase the 36.7-acre site surrounding the former Hall of Fame for $5.5 million from the World Golf Village Foundation Inc.
The deal, which has not yet closed, includes the PGA Tour Productions building and surrounding parking lots and pathways.
“We have always been and remain committed to keeping the IMAX theatre open for as long as we are able to. It is a great attraction for our residents and a critical source of entertainment for citizens and visitors of St. Johns County,” said County Administrator Joy Andrews in a statement Dec. 12.