Northstar Cinema 1 & 2
286 Portage Avenue,
Winnipeg,
MB
R3C
286 Portage Avenue,
Winnipeg,
MB
R3C
3 people
favorited this theater
The Northstar 1 & 2 was located in downtown Winnipeg and opened on March 4, 1970 with Barbra Streisand in “Hello Dolly” & Jan Fonda in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”.
The theaters had two giant screens with over 500 seats in each auditorium. The theaters were later THX-certified with DTS sound.
Sadly, the Northstar 1 & 2 closed in 2001.
Contributed by
Chad Irish
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
Yes 286 Portage ave is or was the correct address
The Northstar was located more or less on the site of the earlier Lyceum theater which was demolished in 1968 along with most of that city block to make way for the Radisson Hotel and parking garage.
I frequently talk to Famous Player’s equipment company, which handles installing and ripping out equipment. I have been informed by several different people, including an employee who worked there back in the 80s/90s that it never had digital- only stereo.
I not only worked at the Northstar as an usher (my first job) but later became the General Manager for Famous Players overseeing this cinema. I was saddened to close it, but more interesting was that we re-opened it less than a year later. The Northstar continued to operate for around six months before it was closed (again) for the last time.
Anyone have any pictures of this theatre?
The Northstar never had digital sound but did have 70mm capability with magnetic sound. The sound processor was a Dolby CP200 and I must admit that the sound quality came very close to current digital formats. In 35mm mode the CP200 was standard 4.1 sound (L,C,R,S + OBE).
This theatre was built by Western Theatres Limited and Famous Players Canadian Corp. Richard Miles, president of Western Theatres Limited was the name of the partner. Western Theatres owned and operated 20 theatres in and around Winnipeg during the theatre heydays!!
March 4th, 1970 grand opening ad posted.
Batman opens in June 1989 in Winnipeg at the Northstar. Fans talk to the CBC outside and the reporter does a stand-up in front of the concession stand.
Closed on March 8, 2001 with “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” in Screen 1 and “Down To Earth” in Screen 2.