The Dolphin opened as an independent theatre in Dec. 1965 with a double feature of McLintock and Lilies of the Field. It joined the Odeon theatre chain a few months later with ‘Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number’. As a single house it had a large barn-like auditorium with bright red upholstered seats and was quite popular in the neighbourhood. After greedy Cinebux Odious twinned it in the 80s though,(badly)it became increasingly dumpier. As of this posting, it’s still open after a closure of several months
May have seen The Godfather here while visiting the UK in fall 1973. All I can recall is that the auditorium was steeply banked and the theatre was close to the train station and about a block away from a barbell club. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, please let me know if I have the right theatre.
Recently visited this theatre while in Portland area. A wonderful throwback to the 40s and 50s, a single screen theatre that seems to be a one man operation. Lobby may have been remodeled but the house itself was like stepping back in time, complete with bad acoustics and uneven masking. What more can a nostalgic theatre fan want?
Only visited this theatre once in the late 1970s but it took a great movie like Nashville to get me there. Situated in a very rough area of the city (East Hastings near Columbia) this theatre showed third and fourth-run double features,long past their theatrical prime. Interior was not nearly as seedy as expected although the few occupied seats had their share of downtown eastsiders. Manager was friendly and informative making the ‘experience’ not nearly as unpleasant as expected.
My very first movie memory was in this theatre. Don’t recall much of the decor, although I do believe we were sitting in a balcony. Saw the compilation movie When Comedy was King around 1961. Theatre closed shortly afterward is memory serves.
Yes, this was a great place to see old movies before the advent of the VCR. Used to come down from Vancouver BC to see such rarities as The great Ziegfeld, Wings, A Free Soul and Cavalcade the latter of which I could cheerfully hold over my friends for years since it gave me the chance to see all the Oscar Winning Best Pictures til that time (or at least until it was finally released on VHS)It was a terrific theatre near Pioneer Square that closed in the early 80s and was still possible to park your car nearby and not have anything happen to it. Wish there were more like it.
Sad to see dust and rubble at this site on a recent visit to the city. Used to come down from Vancouver regularly to see Star Wars in 70MM Dolby stereo and those memories are some of my favorite movie-going experiences. Here’s to progress, yecccch.
The Dolphin opened as an independent theatre in Dec. 1965 with a double feature of McLintock and Lilies of the Field. It joined the Odeon theatre chain a few months later with ‘Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number’. As a single house it had a large barn-like auditorium with bright red upholstered seats and was quite popular in the neighbourhood. After greedy Cinebux Odious twinned it in the 80s though,(badly)it became increasingly dumpier. As of this posting, it’s still open after a closure of several months
May have seen The Godfather here while visiting the UK in fall 1973. All I can recall is that the auditorium was steeply banked and the theatre was close to the train station and about a block away from a barbell club. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, please let me know if I have the right theatre.
Recently visited this theatre while in Portland area. A wonderful throwback to the 40s and 50s, a single screen theatre that seems to be a one man operation. Lobby may have been remodeled but the house itself was like stepping back in time, complete with bad acoustics and uneven masking. What more can a nostalgic theatre fan want?
Only visited this theatre once in the late 1970s but it took a great movie like Nashville to get me there. Situated in a very rough area of the city (East Hastings near Columbia) this theatre showed third and fourth-run double features,long past their theatrical prime. Interior was not nearly as seedy as expected although the few occupied seats had their share of downtown eastsiders. Manager was friendly and informative making the ‘experience’ not nearly as unpleasant as expected.
My very first movie memory was in this theatre. Don’t recall much of the decor, although I do believe we were sitting in a balcony. Saw the compilation movie When Comedy was King around 1961. Theatre closed shortly afterward is memory serves.
Yes, this was a great place to see old movies before the advent of the VCR. Used to come down from Vancouver BC to see such rarities as The great Ziegfeld, Wings, A Free Soul and Cavalcade the latter of which I could cheerfully hold over my friends for years since it gave me the chance to see all the Oscar Winning Best Pictures til that time (or at least until it was finally released on VHS)It was a terrific theatre near Pioneer Square that closed in the early 80s and was still possible to park your car nearby and not have anything happen to it. Wish there were more like it.
Sad to see dust and rubble at this site on a recent visit to the city. Used to come down from Vancouver regularly to see Star Wars in 70MM Dolby stereo and those memories are some of my favorite movie-going experiences. Here’s to progress, yecccch.