Broadway Cinema

251 King William Street,
Hamilton, ON L8R

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Additional Info

Functions: Church

Previous Names: International Cinema, Pussy Cat Cinema

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Opened on May 7, 1968 as the International Cinema showing foreign & adult movies.

On November 7, 1971, the cinema was changed to the Pussy Cat Cinema screening adult movies. In 1979, the name changed again to the Broadway Cinema which showed art & second run films.

The Broadway Cinema closed July 2, 1998 with “As Good as it Gets” & “Two Girls and a Guy”. It is now a church.

Contributed by Chad Irish, Chief_Brody

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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)

schmadrian on May 6, 2006 at 10:23 am

Actually, to be honest, it was a horrible cinema. (And as a cinephile and theatre buff, it pains me to remember this). When they were going through the ‘Save the Broadway’ campaign, when they were really struggling, my best friend and I had t-shirts made up, replete with a photo. Its caption? ‘Pave the Broadway’.

JeffreyDuke2008 on March 23, 2008 at 7:17 am

Hamiltongirl…… I used to call there almost every single night to someone who worked I think she worked at the ticket booth. We talked for hours about movies and as I got older I stopped calling. I remember this woman looked forward to my calls every single night. I think I brought her spirits up while she worked there. What a great reunion this would be if I found this woman again. I do not remember her name but I am sure she would remember my calls. :) if by chance you know of this woman tell her to email me at it would be awesome to talk to her again :)

Brian Morton on May 11, 2008 at 2:52 am

Jeffery:

I am guessing that this would be Vija.. Since it was Jon Zemaitis and his then partner Vija that ran the place in the late 80’s early 90’s. I had her in my taxi about a year back.. But I don’t have contact info sadly. A friend of mine in Ottawa was the asst manager in the 1980’s, I’ll ask next time I see him. Hopefully she spots your query.

jpyoung on March 15, 2009 at 4:03 am

I grew up in the East End near Centennial Parkway and only got to see three movies at The Broadway but I remember each of them. One was a German film about a couple who try to escape from East Germany to West Germany through the sewers but get split up. The movie ends with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the couple see each other through the crowd. If anyone remembers that movie I’d appreciate a name. The second was Lone Star in 96 and the last was Chasing Amy in 97. Ironic that it was once a porn house and is now a church.

TivFan on April 28, 2012 at 11:51 am

As of April 2012, the marquee has been removed. It has been replaced by a back-lit sign attached to the face of the building. The current occupant is Apostolic Ark Ministries. Their web site is ApostolicArkMinistries.org. The name Puzzy Cat Cinema is incorrect. The correct name is Pussycat Cinema.
In a newspaper article about the closing of the Broadway Cinema, it was mentioned that the Pussycat sign existed under the Broadway sign.

TivFan on May 4, 2012 at 8:02 am

I agree with shmadiran’s 2006 comment: this was a horrible theater. The worst in the city, along with the Hyland. But, we had no choice. This was a ‘rep’ theater, and this was the only place running art films, foreign films, revivals, etc. If you wanted to see something, you had to see it there (or go to Toronto).
The picture/screen was way too big for the size of the auditorium. You had to make sure you sat it the back rows. The seats were not very comfortable. The floor sloped down from the back, then ‘inclined’ up to the front rows. Heads were a problem in the few rows in front of yours. Projection problems were common. More than a few times, I remember the screen going black. I think they used ‘arc’ lamps…the picture would turn rosey-red and get duller, until it went completely black, until the reel change…

poetspulpiy on October 16, 2012 at 7:31 am

I always sat last row fourth seat from the left. Saw hundreds of movies here. I miss the theatre greatly. The theatre, I believe closed in 1999. I still have my membership card that expired in Jun. 99 and I think the theatre closed a month or two before my membership did.