Wrong Pantages. The photo above depicts the Pantages on West Hastings (which later became the Odeon Hastings and then the Majestic). This article is about the original Pantages on East Hastings (which later became the Royal, State, Queen, Avon, City Nights and lastly the Sun Sing).
The Royal has not been part of Landmark since 1990. It was bought by M. Radulovich in 1990, then taken over in 2001 by the owners of Coquitlam’s Pinetree 6 Cinemas (the same group that bought the Pinetree 6 from Cineplex Odeon in 1998), and since 2009 has been locally owned by Jason and Lisa Milne (see link below):
I don’t think it needs to be said that if this project is approved, it would mean the end of the Capitol 6 and leave the Odeon as the only remaining cinema complex left on what had been Victoria’s own version of Theatre Row (following after the demises of the Dominion, the original Capitol, the Atlas/Coronet and the Plaza/Haida).
Famous Players closed the Coronet on February 26, 1989 with a final showing of “Three Fugitives” (which moved over to the Capitol 6 after this). No listings were provided for the Coronet in the Times Colonist movie listings after this date, so this is the correct date for the closure.
The Dominion was demolished during December 1966 and January 1967 to make way for a parking lot and the expansion of the renamed Haida Theatre next door.
The North Hill opened on December 21, 1967 as part of National General Cinemas in partnership with Famous Players. It joined Canadian Theatres in 1973, then went to Canadian Odeon in 1978 with the merger of Canadian Theatres and Odeon Theatres (Canada) and then went to Cineplex Odeon in 1984 with the merger of Cineplex and Canadian Odeon.
The Odeon Ladysmith closed following its final show on October 5, 1957 (which fell on a Saturday) with a double bill of the films “Doctor at Large” and “The Ride Back”.
Reopened in another part of Woodgrove Centre by Landmark on November 24, 1999 as the eight-screen Avalon Cinema Centre with the featured films below, while the original three-screen Avalon Cinemas (originally the Woodgrove Cinemas) were renovated for additional retail.
The Tillicum Drive-In (as it came to be known in its later years) was closed by Famous Players on November 11, 1979 with a final dusk-to-dawn movie marathon, with the features shown below:
The rear of the Hollywood auditorium space has been turned into a lounge area with bars on both sides of the lounge, while what had been the balcony section has also been turned into an upper lounge area with a bar as well. Most notably, in the main seating area, some of the seats have been turned to face toward the rear, which defeats the purpose of being able to face the screen when movies are playing.
Wrong Paradise Theatre. The one shown above is the one that later became the Coronet and then part of the Granville 7. This is not the same Paradise that was previously the Studio, Eve, Lyric and Towne.
This “other” Starlite Drive-In mentioned by Mike Rivest is actually the same Starlite Drive-In, which was always located at Departure Bay Road at Norwell Drive. The Cassidy Drive-In was actually located on the Trans-Canada Highway in Cassidy, which is well south of Nanaimo and closer to Ladysmith.
According to the two articles below, the Paramount was closed by Landmark on April 17, 2019, then was bought by the Kelson Group and reopened on June 14, 2019:
The Paramount is no longer part of Landmark Cinemas, as the Kelson Group bought the theatre from Landmark in the spring of 2019 and currently leases it to the Kamloops Film Society. Its current website is at the link below:
New photo in the photo section showing the new Landmark Cinemas signage, which was added in November 2019. As of that date, this theatre is now the Landmark Cinemas Paramount (which is now also the last theatre in the Landmark chain to bear the Paramount name).
Wrong Pantages. The photo above depicts the Pantages on West Hastings (which later became the Odeon Hastings and then the Majestic). This article is about the original Pantages on East Hastings (which later became the Royal, State, Queen, Avon, City Nights and lastly the Sun Sing).
The Royal has not been part of Landmark since 1990. It was bought by M. Radulovich in 1990, then taken over in 2001 by the owners of Coquitlam’s Pinetree 6 Cinemas (the same group that bought the Pinetree 6 from Cineplex Odeon in 1998), and since 2009 has been locally owned by Jason and Lisa Milne (see link below):
About the Royal Theatre
I don’t think it needs to be said that if this project is approved, it would mean the end of the Capitol 6 and leave the Odeon as the only remaining cinema complex left on what had been Victoria’s own version of Theatre Row (following after the demises of the Dominion, the original Capitol, the Atlas/Coronet and the Plaza/Haida).
Photo of the Kerrisdale from 1958 now uploaded to the photo section.
Photo of the Cedar Theatre now uploaded to the photo section. As shown above, the theatre design is a Quonset hut.
More on the Dominion Theatre demolition:
Famous Players closed the Coronet on February 26, 1989 with a final showing of “Three Fugitives” (which moved over to the Capitol 6 after this). No listings were provided for the Coronet in the Times Colonist movie listings after this date, so this is the correct date for the closure.
The Dominion was demolished during December 1966 and January 1967 to make way for a parking lot and the expansion of the renamed Haida Theatre next door.
The North Hill opened on December 21, 1967 as part of National General Cinemas in partnership with Famous Players. It joined Canadian Theatres in 1973, then went to Canadian Odeon in 1978 with the merger of Canadian Theatres and Odeon Theatres (Canada) and then went to Cineplex Odeon in 1984 with the merger of Cineplex and Canadian Odeon.
The Odeon Ladysmith closed following its final show on October 5, 1957 (which fell on a Saturday) with a double bill of the films “Doctor at Large” and “The Ride Back”.
The Capitol showed its last movie on January 9, 1982 (which fell on a Saturday) when it played “True Confessions”:
The Oak Bay Theatre closed on February 6, 1986 following a final showing of “The Shooting Party”:
Reopened in another part of Woodgrove Centre by Landmark on November 24, 1999 as the eight-screen Avalon Cinema Centre with the featured films below, while the original three-screen Avalon Cinemas (originally the Woodgrove Cinemas) were renovated for additional retail.
Famous Players closed the Woodgrove Cinemas on October 1, 1992 as detailed in this Nanaimo Daily Free Press article from the following day:
The Fiesta was closed by Famous Players on March 1, 1992, with its final shows featured below:
The Tillicum Drive-In (as it came to be known in its later years) was closed by Famous Players on November 11, 1979 with a final dusk-to-dawn movie marathon, with the features shown below:
New photo added in the photo section, showing the Coronet shortly after its 1989 closure.
The rear of the Hollywood auditorium space has been turned into a lounge area with bars on both sides of the lounge, while what had been the balcony section has also been turned into an upper lounge area with a bar as well. Most notably, in the main seating area, some of the seats have been turned to face toward the rear, which defeats the purpose of being able to face the screen when movies are playing.
As noted by CorusFTW, this was originally a Famous Players theatre under the Coliseum branding.
CorusFTW, it was a SilverCity theatre at one point.
Wrong Paradise Theatre. The one shown above is the one that later became the Coronet and then part of the Granville 7. This is not the same Paradise that was previously the Studio, Eve, Lyric and Towne.
This “other” Starlite Drive-In mentioned by Mike Rivest is actually the same Starlite Drive-In, which was always located at Departure Bay Road at Norwell Drive. The Cassidy Drive-In was actually located on the Trans-Canada Highway in Cassidy, which is well south of Nanaimo and closer to Ladysmith.
According to the two articles below, the Paramount was closed by Landmark on April 17, 2019, then was bought by the Kelson Group and reopened on June 14, 2019:
Kelson Group buys Paramount Theatre building in downtown Kamloops (April 11, 2019)
Paramount Theatre reopens this weekend with Kamloops Film Society at helm (June 13, 2019)
The Paramount is no longer part of Landmark Cinemas, as the Kelson Group bought the theatre from Landmark in the spring of 2019 and currently leases it to the Kamloops Film Society. Its current website is at the link below:
The Kamloops Film Society at the Paramount Theatre (info on the Kelson Group purchase can be found in its “About the KFS” section)
On that note, Movies (Independent) and Movies (Film Festivals) should also be added to the Functions section for the Paramount.
New photo in the photo section showing the new Landmark Cinemas signage, which was added in November 2019. As of that date, this theatre is now the Landmark Cinemas Paramount (which is now also the last theatre in the Landmark chain to bear the Paramount name).