Comments from Nostromo

Showing 1 - 25 of 32 comments

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Paramount - Halifax, NS on May 31, 2022 at 10:14 am

Most likely the summer of 1965 [based on the marquee title]

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Orpheus Theatre on May 20, 2022 at 5:09 pm

The picture above: 7–8 May 1945 [aftermath of the VE Day riots]

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Casino Theatre on May 20, 2022 at 4:55 pm

c1921

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on May 20, 2022 at 4:36 pm

Friday October 31, 1930

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on May 20, 2022 at 4:35 pm

Wartime Halifax had about twice its pre-war population and the Capitol was constantly busy, one of the most popular spots in the city.

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Hyland Theatre on May 10, 2021 at 2:17 pm

At some point in time the theatre became part of a much larger chain, Odeon, I think, and the name was changed to the Hyland.

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Aug 26, 2020 at 2:03 pm

Impossible to tell from the exterior (whose early facade had mostly been shorn from it by 1961), but The Capitol was perhaps Montreal’s glitziest-ever movie theatre.

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Bonaventure Theatre on Mar 11, 2020 at 12:29 pm

An almost unimaginably small theatre for such a big film as Star Wars! I also saw it here several times when it debuted in the summer of ‘77.

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Wormwood's Cinema on Feb 23, 2020 at 9:17 pm

Origins of the the distinctive ‘Cinema’ name:

“At the turn of the century a vaudeville show based in New York occasionally toured through the Maritimes and Quebec. The Wormwood’s Dog and Monkey Show had animal acts, comedy, and burlesque. Edmund Porter also travelled with the show; he was one of North America’s earliest significant film directors. Porter’s early movies were probably the first ever shown to vaudeville audiences in the Maritimes.” [Vincent Tinguely]

https://vintin.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/monkeying-around-with-wormwoods/?fbclid=IwAR2YcW88neo6tRLslROTv5EjV1KS5iwa0KyrrQJ5pO0rsIDxZ05D-1Dve2I

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Wormwood's Cinema on Feb 19, 2020 at 5:30 pm

Pictured above, Wormwood’s co-founder, programmer and operator Gordon Parsons with carbon arc projector in the booth at the old Khyber Building location, in 1983.

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Cove Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 6:03 pm

The Canadian Motion Picture Year Book 1963/64 lists 945 seats when it was still named “The Vogue.”

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Oxford Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 5:56 pm

The Canadian Motion Picture Year Book 1963/64 listed 720 seats

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Oxford Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 5:43 pm

Note the old marquee – late 1930s or ‘40s

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Scotia Square Cinema on Feb 17, 2020 at 4:55 pm

The Chronicle Herald, Oct. 14 ‘69

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Scotia Square Cinema on Feb 17, 2020 at 4:54 pm

The Chronicle Herald, Nov. 12 ‘69

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Scotia Square Cinema on Feb 17, 2020 at 4:53 pm

The Chronicle Herald, Oct. 11 ‘69

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Scotia Square Cinema on Feb 17, 2020 at 4:52 pm

The Chronicle Herald, Oct. 14 ‘69

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Mayfair Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 1:46 pm

Located at 141-145 Portland St.

The picture here is from 1950 or ‘51

On the marquee: Kathryn Grayson in The Toast of New Orleans

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 10:38 am

“The enthusiasm for urban renewal, combined with the television-inspired decline in attendance at the movies was bad for movie palaces and their vast auditoriums. Halifax and its unique showplace, the Capitol Theatre, was no exception. No expense had been spared by Famous Players in 1930 when they opened the Capitol, a castellated medieval fantasy created for them by the architect Murray Brown. The illusion was complete, and between 1930 and 1974, half the experience in going to the movies was the theatre itself…. Alas, the economics of a 1,980-seat auditorium just did not add up in the age of television. Proposals the Capitol be recast as a civic auditorium came to nothing, much to the regret of later generations ….”

William D. Naftel, Halifax: a Visual Legacy

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 3:22 am

Anyone interested in the Capitol Theatre should read Cynthia A. Henry, Remembering The Halifax Capitol Theatre 1930-1974, 2000.

Available at the Halifax Central Library:

https://halifax.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1343123135

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 1:27 am

“The Capitol, a fascinating exotic movie theatre whose decoration also broke the Adam-Empire mould, was opened in Halifax in 1929. In a "medieval” atmosphere of turrets, drawbridges, beamed “Tudor” ceilings and heraldic insignia and banners appeared murals of Champlain’s Order of Good Cheer and Wolfe and his loyal forces besieging Louisbourg. The grand foyer of this theatre was rendered “atmospheric,” while the auditorium was unmistakably “hard-topped.”

Parks Canada

http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/13/chs13-1m.htm

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 12:55 am

Anyone interested in the Capitol Theatre should read Cynthia A. Henry, Remembering The Halifax Capitol Theatre 1930-1974, 2000. Available at the Halifax Central Library:

https://halifax.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1343123135

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 12:50 am

Taken soon after its opening on 31 October 1930.

The Halifax Mail, 31 October 1930, p. 21, continued its description of the new Capitol Theatre:

“This Mezzanine Promenade has the same magnificent carpeted floor and massive round pillars supporting the groined and vaulted roof. Deep vaulted embrasures lead to the Balcony level through brass studded and felt covered doors, while other embrasures have mullioned and leaded windows.

The walls of the staircase are in old-time half timber construction, the balustrade being of carved oak and the whole stair covered with the same fine carpet."

Date: 1930

Reference: Nova Scotia Archives Photo Collection Places: Halifax: Buildings

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 12:44 am

Vestibule

Reference: NSARM Photo Collection Places: Halifax: Buildings

Nostromo
Nostromo commented about Capitol Theatre on Feb 17, 2020 at 12:22 am

“The Capitol Theatre opened its doors on Barrington Street at the foot of Spring Garden Road, on October 31, 1930. Known for its extravagant architecture and lush decor, the theatre was very popular in the hey-dey of cinema. The Capitol Buildng was built by Brookfield construction and also housed Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company offices and a shoe store. It was demolished in 1974 by MT&T to make room for the Maritime Centre high-rise tower.”

Halifax Municipal Archives

https://memoryns.ca/capitol-theatre-collection