Canby Theatre

Canby, MN and Canby, OR are ‘sister’ cities. I can remember that when Canby, MN had it’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration (75th anniversary of city) in 1954, their were exchanges and congratulations between officials of the two cities.
Canby, MN population is presently about 1900 while Canby, OR population is close to 13,000.
Too bad there is not a cinema in Canby, OR. I certainly enjoyed growing up in a movie theatre; my father built the Canby, MN Theatre in 1939. I enjoyed the entertainment and part-time jobs. Jobs were provided for many young people: popcorn and candy vendors, ticket sellers, ticket takers, and occasional cleanup duties.

Yes, I have been sorting through old newspaper clippings and articles from the Canby News which were stored for a long time either at the Canby Theatre or at the Wm. Flieder family residence. I also have clippings regarding Canby’s Broadway Theatre going back to about 1930.

After my post on Feb. 16th, I looked through the listing of Theatre architects on cinematreasures website. It seems that the architect is not Crozier spelled with a ‘Z’ but probably Perry E. Crosier. Mr. Crosier designed theatres in the Mpls.-St.Paul area most of which have been demolished or closed. The Mpls. Avalon Theatre, a theatre in Marshfield, WI and the Canby Theatre are still operating.

Willa, is that you?

NOW PLAYING MR BROOKS AND SURFS UP>>>>>>>>>>

Here’s a link to the ‘Canby News’: http://www.frontiernet.net/~cnews/

Click on the entertainment link at the News to see what’s playing this week at the theatre.

Here is a 1952 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/gz5df

I haven’t lived in Canby since the late 60’s though my parents lived there until 1995. It’s a nice small town surrounded by farm land, has a hospital, vo-tech school, and pretty new elementary and high school buildings ( part of the high school was replaced just in 2002). I was able to look inside the theatre just a year ago – I’m not much of an authority on projection systems but there was a large horizontal reel that apparently holds the entire movie & one projection machine so I assume that is the platter system. I know they got rid of the dual projection machines some ago (my dad was a projectionist there from when it opened in 1939 to about 1970, my uncle built and owned it). I don’t know about the basic soundness of the building but I think it’s fair to say some things are showing their age, carpets and some of the seats for example. Good luck with your purchasing decision. Where do you live may I ask?

To LarryB7313: What kind of info are you looking for? I’m part of the family that built and operated the Canby Theatre for quite a while, though I haven’t been involved with it for a long time.