This was the original Lux. It was replaced in the mid-80s by the multiscreen Lux Cinema Centre, 229 Bear Street, Banff, AB, T0L 0C0
(403) 762-8595 which is still going strong.
I had just seen “The Two Jakes” at the Capitol 2 (which was the original balcony of the old single seat auditorium.) The crowd was sparse. I watched some of the credits while the handful of other patrons filed out. Whatever the movie was downstairs had already let out. As I got to the door on Donald, the usher, a young kid, said to me “Congratulations Sir – You are the last customer in the Capitol theatre. We’re closing the doors tonight.” And so they did – although the building stood empty for several years after that.
The North Hill Cinerama was a great place to see a movie in the 1970’s when I would go there. I agree with Jason Whyte that the cinema was only set up to show the single frame Cinerama. (See the documentary on the new Blu-ray DVD of “How the West Was Won” for the full story on this. I did see a 70mm version of “This Is Cinerama” there in the mid-70’s.
Inside – nothing but gold curtains – just like many of these Cinerama theaters. Check out the shots of auditoriums in the documentary mentioned above.
When I first moved to Calgary as a kid in 1972, the Strand was still standing, but was closed and awaiting the wrecker’s ball. I walked by it once and vandals had torn away the frame-like showcases where the posters used to be. One of them still had a matte that had been behind another matte for years. It had bits and pieces of a poster for King Solomon’s Mines (1950). The theater was gone by the end of 1972.
Logged a lot of hours in this theater in the 70’s and although it showed some softcore stuff once and a while, it was not really an adult theatre. Lots of horror, blaxploitation, kung fu stuff etc as well as crowd pleasers like Vanishing Point. Those Italian westerns with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer played there for weeks and weeks.
Although the outside had a sort of art deco look, it was quite plain inside. Good memories.
This was the original Lux. It was replaced in the mid-80s by the multiscreen Lux Cinema Centre, 229 Bear Street, Banff, AB, T0L 0C0
(403) 762-8595 which is still going strong.
I had just seen “The Two Jakes” at the Capitol 2 (which was the original balcony of the old single seat auditorium.) The crowd was sparse. I watched some of the credits while the handful of other patrons filed out. Whatever the movie was downstairs had already let out. As I got to the door on Donald, the usher, a young kid, said to me “Congratulations Sir – You are the last customer in the Capitol theatre. We’re closing the doors tonight.” And so they did – although the building stood empty for several years after that.
I lived in Flin Flon in 1985-86 and there was no movie theater functioning and had not been for some time. The description is not quite right.
For movies we had to go to the Big Island Drive-In south of town or the movie theater in Cranberry Portage (until fire claimed it in 1989).
The North Hill Cinerama was a great place to see a movie in the 1970’s when I would go there. I agree with Jason Whyte that the cinema was only set up to show the single frame Cinerama. (See the documentary on the new Blu-ray DVD of “How the West Was Won” for the full story on this. I did see a 70mm version of “This Is Cinerama” there in the mid-70’s.
Inside – nothing but gold curtains – just like many of these Cinerama theaters. Check out the shots of auditoriums in the documentary mentioned above.
When I first moved to Calgary as a kid in 1972, the Strand was still standing, but was closed and awaiting the wrecker’s ball. I walked by it once and vandals had torn away the frame-like showcases where the posters used to be. One of them still had a matte that had been behind another matte for years. It had bits and pieces of a poster for King Solomon’s Mines (1950). The theater was gone by the end of 1972.
Logged a lot of hours in this theater in the 70’s and although it showed some softcore stuff once and a while, it was not really an adult theatre. Lots of horror, blaxploitation, kung fu stuff etc as well as crowd pleasers like Vanishing Point. Those Italian westerns with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer played there for weeks and weeks.
Although the outside had a sort of art deco look, it was quite plain inside. Good memories.