TravisCape - Up in Canada, Famous Players and Odeon (historically), and currently Cineplex and Landmark, did the same thing in attaching restrictive covenants in the sale of their movie theatres after closing them to keep them from being used for movies (mainly because of concerns about competition from rivals when they open newer theatres). Ethically, it’s wrong and it shouldn’t be allowed because it denies moviegoers a choice and it also ruins the memories the affected theatres' patrons had of their movie experiences at those theatres (e.g. what movies they saw there, etc.) - not that the chains' CEOs care, because to them, it’s all about the $$$ at day’s end.
According to the link below (showing a recent Google Street view as of September 2023), the Totem Theatre building is still standing but has long since been boarded up and allowed to deteriorate.
According to the article below, the Caprice nightclub (in the old Dominion/Downtown/Caprice theatre space) closed in January 2018 and following renovations, was replaced in June 2019 with the space’s current tenant, a bar and restaurant called the Colony:
I’ve seen photos posted on Google of the interior of the theatre when it was the Venue nightclub, but I sometimes wonder what it looked like inside during its cinema days. Shame that it’s been sitting boarded up for over three years since Venue closed and I fear it could end up undergoing “demolition by neglect”, as some other older buildings in Vancouver ended up being fated to experience (like the building on East Hastings that once housed the Only Seafood restaurant, which underwent a similar fate when it was boarded up after the restaurant closed and was left to sit and crumble until it was eventually torn down at some point around 2021).
According to the CBC article from 2021 and as shown in current Google Maps street views, the Esplanade Cinemas has been demolished for an apartment building, so its status should be changed to Demolished. Mention should also be made of what happened in the partial collapse of the former theatre during demolition work on the theatre at that time.
In the photo above, Hell’s Belles and Angel Unchained (which both appear to be exploitation movies) and The Wizard of Oz are playing in the Richmond Theatre, the larger of the two screens (with 700 seats) at Richmond Square, while Till Death Us Do Part (the correct name of the film) and the forthcoming Barefoot Executive are playing in the smaller Islander Theatre (478 seats).
According to the following articles from the Regina Leader-Post (one of which is also posted in the article photo section), the Roxy was destroyed by fire on December 30, 1977:
Judging from the size of this auditorium, under the old seating schematics with traditional cinema seating (i.e. not those bulky, space-consuming luxury recliners), it could have held 500 or more seats.
The original post at the top is correct. The former site of the Birchcliff Theatre, at 1535 Kingston Road (per Google Maps - postal code M1N 1R5), is now the location of Station 42 of the Toronto Paramedic Services, built there after the Birchcliff was demolished in 1977, so this theatre’s status needs to be changed to Demolished.
Famous Players owned this theatre during its cinema days, per Mike Rivest’s site. It first ran as the Palace until about 1950, then was renamed the Park and ran under that name until it closed around 1985.
A photo of the Galaxy from June 2009, during the theatre’s last months in business, is now up in the photo section; that photo confirms what I first posted in 2012 at the top of the comment section about the Galaxy always being only a twinplex, never a four-screener.
As far as I saw from the most recent Google street view, the Empire Theatre building no longer houses a gymnasium, but it does have local radio studios and a news bureau for Radio-Canada on the 3rd Avenue side of the building, along with a spa, a hair salon and offices at the back end of the building on the Balsam Street side.
Not the same theatre as the one profiled in this article.
TravisCape - Up in Canada, Famous Players and Odeon (historically), and currently Cineplex and Landmark, did the same thing in attaching restrictive covenants in the sale of their movie theatres after closing them to keep them from being used for movies (mainly because of concerns about competition from rivals when they open newer theatres). Ethically, it’s wrong and it shouldn’t be allowed because it denies moviegoers a choice and it also ruins the memories the affected theatres' patrons had of their movie experiences at those theatres (e.g. what movies they saw there, etc.) - not that the chains' CEOs care, because to them, it’s all about the $$$ at day’s end.
According to the link below (showing a recent Google Street view as of September 2023), the Totem Theatre building is still standing but has long since been boarded up and allowed to deteriorate.
Totem Theatre building in September 2023
The address listed above for the former Broadway Theatre (now the location of the Broadway Diner) is correct and the postal code is P4N 1C2.
According to the PDF article supplied by Mike Rivest (on page 5), the Prince Rupert Cinemas opened on April 8, 1982.
According to the article below, the Caprice nightclub (in the old Dominion/Downtown/Caprice theatre space) closed in January 2018 and following renovations, was replaced in June 2019 with the space’s current tenant, a bar and restaurant called the Colony:
Inside the massive new Colony Granville Strip location before it opens
I’ve seen photos posted on Google of the interior of the theatre when it was the Venue nightclub, but I sometimes wonder what it looked like inside during its cinema days. Shame that it’s been sitting boarded up for over three years since Venue closed and I fear it could end up undergoing “demolition by neglect”, as some other older buildings in Vancouver ended up being fated to experience (like the building on East Hastings that once housed the Only Seafood restaurant, which underwent a similar fate when it was boarded up after the restaurant closed and was left to sit and crumble until it was eventually torn down at some point around 2021).
According to the CBC article from 2021 and as shown in current Google Maps street views, the Esplanade Cinemas has been demolished for an apartment building, so its status should be changed to Demolished. Mention should also be made of what happened in the partial collapse of the former theatre during demolition work on the theatre at that time.
And to think, all of those theatres, except for the Capitol, would be gone 10 years later with the opening of the Cornwall Centre Cinemas.
Pretty hard to get a good view of the theatre because of the raised train platform being right in the middle of the street.
So out of curiosity, did this theatre get renamed for Leonard Nimoy (of Star Trek fame)?
In the photo above, Hell’s Belles and Angel Unchained (which both appear to be exploitation movies) and The Wizard of Oz are playing in the Richmond Theatre, the larger of the two screens (with 700 seats) at Richmond Square, while Till Death Us Do Part (the correct name of the film) and the forthcoming Barefoot Executive are playing in the smaller Islander Theatre (478 seats).
Wrong theatre - this is actually the interior of the now-demolished Paramount Theatre in Saint John, New Brunswick.
I think this ad is from the Eve Theatre that was previously the Alhambra and the Baronet.
According to the following articles from the Regina Leader-Post (one of which is also posted in the article photo section), the Roxy was destroyed by fire on December 30, 1977:
Downtown theatre destroyed by fire (December 30, 1977)
Fire destroyed the Roxy, but not the memories (December 31, 1977)
Judging from the size of this auditorium, under the old seating schematics with traditional cinema seating (i.e. not those bulky, space-consuming luxury recliners), it could have held 500 or more seats.
Black-boxed after Cineplex took over, no doubt.
The original post at the top is correct. The former site of the Birchcliff Theatre, at 1535 Kingston Road (per Google Maps - postal code M1N 1R5), is now the location of Station 42 of the Toronto Paramedic Services, built there after the Birchcliff was demolished in 1977, so this theatre’s status needs to be changed to Demolished.
Famous Players owned this theatre during its cinema days, per Mike Rivest’s site. It first ran as the Palace until about 1950, then was renamed the Park and ran under that name until it closed around 1985.
A photo of the Galaxy from June 2009, during the theatre’s last months in business, is now up in the photo section; that photo confirms what I first posted in 2012 at the top of the comment section about the Galaxy always being only a twinplex, never a four-screener.
The building design here reminds me, to an extent, of the old Roxy Theatre in Port Alberni.
According to Mike Rivest’s site, the Mayfair was last owned by Famous Players, which closed it sometime around 1970.
Whoever’s posting all these spam posts in the comment section, spammers are not welcome here.
As the Plaza’s website is advertising current movies again since its reopening, its status should be changed to Open (Showing Movies).
As far as I saw from the most recent Google street view, the Empire Theatre building no longer houses a gymnasium, but it does have local radio studios and a news bureau for Radio-Canada on the 3rd Avenue side of the building, along with a spa, a hair salon and offices at the back end of the building on the Balsam Street side.