Theatres
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Winnipeg stages attracted many stars of the British Theatre
of Varieties and American Vaudeville theatre. Some of the
Vaudeville circuits through Western Canada began in Winnipeg
and many vaudevillians got their first break in the city -
there was a saying that if an act could make it in Winnipeg,
it could make it anywhere. Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton,
Charles Chaplin and the Marx Brothers all appeared on Winnipeg
stages (the Marx Brothers first saw Chaplin in this city)
and went on to appear in Hollywood films. Winnipeg's discriminating
audiences had sent them on their way to stardom. The Pantages
and Orpheum circuits which featured their acts were the most
popular, offering three shows a day including a matinee. Unfortunately,
Vaudeville was overtaken in popularity by Hollywood films
staring the famous names that had once tramped the boards
in Winnipeg.
The Winnipeg Film Exchange was located in the Lyon Building
at 217-225 McDermot Avenue from 1917-23. Through the Exchange,
Winnipeg Film could rent copies of the latest Hollywood films.
The Winnipeg Film Exchange's theatre at 646 Main Street stands
as one of the oldest film theatres in Winnipeg.
CAPITOL THEATRE
351 Donald Street
1921B. Thomas W. Lamb
The first announcement that Winnipeg was to be graced with
a new $600,000 luxury theatre came on 18 November 1919 at
the request of S. E. Richards. Although the building construction
was delayed by a shortage of cement and structural steel,
the Capitol Theatre was officially opened on Monday, 14 February
1921. The new movie theatre was built for the Famous Players
Canadian Corporation Limited (merging of Famous Players-Lasky
Corporation and Paramount Theatres Limited), formed by E.
W. Bickell and N. L. Nathanson in 1918. In its rival with
the Allen Curcuit, Famous Players decided to errect a chain
of fifty new theatres across Canada.
The architect of the Capitol was the prestigious North American
theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb. Lamb became prominent in
theatre design in 1913 after designing the Regent Theatre
in New York City. His success continued when he designed the
Mark Strand on Broadway, the Roxy, the Rivoli, and the Capital
Theatre in New York. Lamb's theatre designs in Canada include
the Loew Theatre chain, Loew's Yonge Street Theatre, Capitol
Theatres and the Uptown theatre.
Winnipeg's Capitol Theatre is a fine and significant example
of Lamb's Canadian work and delighted its patrons. Along the
walls of the main floor, engaged columns and pilasters supported
an entablature at balcony level on which rested the highly
decorated enormous saucer dome which was described as "a
thing of beauty". In front of the proscenium arch on
each side of the theatre were tall, gilt, round headed grills
decorated by winged female figures. Similar figures were found
throughout the plaster work of the dome. Even the permanent
stage, scenery and curtain were noteworthy, being designed
by John Wenger, a Russian who was considered one of the leading
artists of the day with an 'inimitable' personal stamp to
his work.
Over 2,000 people attended the opening nght of the Capitol
Theatre and many others had to be turned away from its doors.
As was typical in the days of short silent films, the evening's
entertainment consisted of a combination of a silent movie,
music and live entertainment. The Capitol Theatre continued
to be one of the most lavish and attractive movie palace auditoriums
in Winnipeg.
-A
busy night at Capitol Theatre 1935
METROPOLITAN THEATRE
283-285 Donald Street
1919B. C. Howard Crane
Constructed in 1919 on a wave of motion picture palace construction
across North America, the Metropolitan Theatre officially
opened in 1920 as the Allen Theatre. The theatre was constructed
as part of a large chain of Allen movie houses, owned and
operated by brothers Jay J. and Jules Allen, and backed by
their father, Bernard Allen. When this theatre opened, the
Allen chain was the biggest and most dominant.
With the new technology of motion pictures, the Allen family
decided to capitalize on the momentum, opening first a film
exchange, the Allen Amusement Corporation in1908 and their
first luxury theatre in Calgary in 1913. The Allen chain leaped
across the country, constructing large and costly movie palaces,
splitting markets and loyalties and building excitement and
attendance.
All of the Allen Theatres had the same architect and therefore
a similar architectural style in common. C. Howard Crane belonged
to the firm of Elmer George Kichler and Associates and adapted
the neo-classical theatre motifs establishhed by Charles Lamb.
Between 1912 and 1922, the Adams style was born and employed
exclusively by Lamb and Crane. Interior spaces contained the
key Adamasque techniques- classical plaster detailing, muted
and complimentary colors, a sense of spaciousness and special
attention to ceiling details. The facades of the buildings
were symmetrical, repeating low-relief classical ornamentation
and figuring prominently the Palladian-type windows of Adams
design. Crane's Allen Theatre is characteristic of this national
genre.
Thousands of Winnipegers caught the excitement of the theatre
at the formal opening of the new Allen Theatre on 2 January
1920. The mayor was present and declared the new theatre to
be 'the largest and finest in the country'. The theatre was
a runaway success.
Unfortunately, the Allens fell prey to their well-financed
competitors. In 1923, Famous Players acquired the Allens Theatre
Corporation for a fraction of its value, leaving Famous Players
in a near-monopoly situation. This theatre was renamed the
Metropolitan in 1923.
With the innovation
of 'talking' pictures in 1928, the Metropolitan was upgraded
with speakers and large projectors. The theatre experienced
major alteration of the ground floor by architects Green,
Blankstein and Russell. Over the years, the theatre ran first-run
films to large audiences. The most devastating thing in the
Metropolitan's history was the introduction of television
in 1954. The Metropolitan Theatre was a grand old movie theatre.
ODEON/WALKER
THEATRE
364 Smith Street
1906 B. Howard C. Stone
The Odeon Cinema was built in 1906 as the Walker Theatre,
after the original building, the Victoria Hall, was destroyed
by a fire that killed four firemen. After the Victoria Hall
was destroyed in 1905, Howard C. Stone was commissioned to
plan a modern, fully fringed playhouse. The building was constructed
of steel and reinforced concrete with terra cotta used to
encase the steel work in certain areas. One significant feature
of the Walker Theatre, thanks to the use of the steel, is
the elimination of columns and posts that would normally obstruct
the patron's view.
In 1936, the Walker Theatre was converted into a cinema and
sold to the Morton family because it could not escape the
economic dislocation of the depression. In 1945, the theatre
celebrated its second re-opening as the Odeon.
The theatre, which staged numerous
exhilarating shows before thousands of satisfied patrons,
is an architectural treasure which people will cherish.
PANTAGES THEATRE
180 Market Avenue
1913-14 B. Marcus Priteca, Seattle
The words "Pantages Unequalled
Vaudeville" are inscribed above the entrance to one of
Canada's fine post - 1900 vaudeville theatres. The Pantages
Theatre circuit was begun by Alexander Pantages, a wealthy
American businessman who made his fortune in the Klondike.
He built seventeen theatres across North America, the Winnipeg
stage being the first on the western circuit. The Pantages
Theatre opened on February 9, 1914 with Mademoiselle Adgie
and her Twelve Dancing Lions performing their Dance of Death.
There were three shows a day offering patrons seats at 10
cents, 15 cents, or 25 cents in the exclusive boxes. Vaudeville
wanned as silent films with piano accompaniment were added
to the bill. The Pantages closed its doors in 1923, reopening
the same year for use in local productions. It was taken over
by the City of Winnipeg in 1935.
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