Imperial Oil Centre for the Performing Arts

168 North Christina Street,
Sarnia, ON N7T 7H8

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Related Websites

Imperial Oil Center for the Performing Arts (Official)

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Famous Players

Architects: Harold Solomon Kaplan, Abraham Sprachman

Firms: Kaplan & Sprachman

Functions: Concerts, Stage Shows

Styles: Art Deco

Previous Names: Capitol Theatre

Phone Numbers: Box Office: 519.344.7469
Manager: 519.332.6591

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News About This Theater

Imperial Theatre in Sarnia, ON, Canada

The former Capitol Theatre opened in 1936 as a local movie house which sat over 600 patrons. In 1988, after a long, successful run, the theatre closed.

Scheduled to be demolished, the theatre was saved by the Steering Committee of the Sarnia Little Theatre and its Art Deco opulence was restored.

Today, the Capitol Theatre is known as the Imperial Oil Centre for the Performing Arts, after the corporate benefactor who helped to restore it.

Contributed by Gary Flinn

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

gflinn
gflinn on January 21, 2002 at 2:33 pm

When it was the Capitol Theatre, it was owned and operated by the Famous Players theatre circuit.

steelbeard1
steelbeard1 on January 10, 2005 at 3:22 pm

The Archives of Ontario has a page about the theatre which you can read at View link
That page mentions that the architect of this theatre was Mandel Sprachman.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 25, 2014 at 11:10 am

The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada lists the Capitol Theatre in Sarnia, Ontario, as a 1936 project by the architectural firm of Kaplan & Sprachman for Famous Players.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on March 23, 2018 at 12:05 pm

1953 tornado photo added courtesy of Tony Ward. The then Capitol Theatre in the background on the far left with damaged marquee sign.

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