Historic Abandoned Theatre

ABOUT THIS ABANDONED THEATRE

Built in the 1920’s at a cost of $60,000 (about $500,000 in today’s dollars) ,with seating for 714 people and admission costing 30 cents for adults and 15 cents for children this abandoned theatre served its city for 83 years under several different names and uses.

Initially built to host vaudeville performances it went on to play silent films. After surviving a major flood in the late 1940’s, the theatre was sold to an owner who managed the theatre through to the early 1980’s. In the early 1980’s the city bought the theatre and renamed and rebranded as a live performance venue.

In 1989 the theatre underwent a major renovation and opened again under another name, where it struggled to stay alive. After several years of operating deficits and a failed attempt at getting the theatre a heritage designation, it closed in 2006 for good.

Another attempt at heritage designation came in the 2000’s to no avail and it has been announced that the theatre will be demolished.

I would first learn of this location around 2019 when I got to know Exploring With Angelo, he was trying to get permission to explore the theatre but was told it would not be possible due to the dangerous and hazardous conditions inside. He said he would let me know if there is ever a way inside.

Well, fast forward a few years and Angelo managed to find a way inside, true to his word he dropped me a line and we agreed to meet up and explore together.

The info he was given of dangerous, hazardous and full of poisonous pigeon poop were clearly false, as we entered to see quite a bit of dust and some water damage from holes in the roof but nothing that screamed danger!

Inside, the power is still on and a set of work lights that each still had one working light made things easier for shooting. However the annoying sound of a constant beep from a fire alarm box is enough to drive you mad!

On the stage we found that the button to control the curtains still worked, in my video I had some fun with this. In the theatre most of the red chairs are still there with a handful of rows having been removed at some point. The beautifully decorated tin roof is showing its age along with some nasty holes from water damage, and a beautiful chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Sadly while the building has power, we were not able to get the chandelier to turn on.

Moving into the small lobby, this is where the most damage can be found in peeling paint and water damage from the ceiling to the pillars and the stairs up to the mezzanine level. From the mezzanine level there is a beautiful view of the entire theatre, then head up a small set of stairs into the projection room and this is where the magic can be found.

Inside the black and decaying projection room, the original film projection machine, complete with a movie still loaded. This large heavy piece of cinematic machinery still looks like it could turn on and project onto the lower curtains or rear of the stage. Let’s hope that before the wrecking ball takes this place down that they save this old machine for a museum or a collector.

I owe a huge thanks to Angelo for this opportunity and for his patience while I took my sweet time filming and photographing this old historic theatre!

Thanks for reading