Empire Theatre
422 Barton Street East,
Hamilton,
ON
L8L 2Y6
422 Barton Street East,
Hamilton,
ON
L8L 2Y6
1 person
favorited this theater
This was a single screen auditorium with a balcony that still stands today as the Essence Banquet Centre on the corner of Barton Street East and Leeming Avenue.
It was built in the early 1920’s by Hamilton Theatre magnate Fred Guest who also owned four other cinema’s locally (The Playhouse, The Main, The Strand and his flagship The Delta), as well as one other (The Stanley Theatre) in Vancouver BC. Ironically the only one still intact is the cinema (now an arts centre) in BC. In the late 1960’s the space was twinned, the seats removed, and the floor flattened. It remains as a Banquet Hall for weddings and other events.
Contributed by
Brian Morton
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
A little more info. This was also known as the Italia Cinema from 1938 to 1969 when it closed.
There are photos at the Ont Archives of the exterior/interior.