Town Cinemas
280 St. Paul Street,
St. Catharines,
ON
L2R 3M9
280 St. Paul Street,
St. Catharines,
ON
L2R 3M9
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Canadian Theatres, Cineplex Odeon
Architects: Grant Russell Sauder, Thomas Husted Wiley
Previous Names: Griffin Theatre, Palace Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Griffin Theatre was built in 1913 and opened on May 6, 1915 with Charlie Chaplin in “The Tramp”. It was operated by the Griffin Amusement Co. It became the Palace Theatre from October 9, 1941 and closed in 1972. It was converted into a twin screen movie theatre to the plans of architect Grant Russell Sauder. It reopened on August 3, 1973, but was ravaged by fire the following day August 4, 1973. It was renovated and reopen in 1979 as the twin screen Town Cinemas. It was closed by Cineplex Odeon in 1992 and reopened on February 12, 1993 as a discount theatre.
The Town Cinemas closed in 2001 and was used as a live theatre for while. The building stands vacant & unused in 2023.
Contributed by
Chad Irish
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
There has been talk, for years about restoring this theatre. I think this was the Opera House, way before the Palace and 1945 date. Take the google view, and see the awsome rear view of the building/auditorium (Carlise/look left and Head Street).
This was built in 1913 as the Griffin Opera House. As seen on the marquee, the lat incarnation was spelled Town Cinemas (not Towne Cinema).
http://miscdisorders.blogspot.com/2012/07/birth-of-town-cinemas.html
Closed as a movie theatre in 2004, but was used for live music for a number of years afterwards.
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2008/02/21/downtown-theatre-put-emotions-into-motion
Opened on October 9th, 1941. Grand opening ad posted. More to come…
According to this web page from the St. Catharine’s Museum, the Griffin Theatre opened on May 6, 1915, with the first Canadian showing of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Tramp.” The appellation Opera House for this theater appears to be a modern invention. Early ads from the WWI era call it Griffin’s Theatre or the Griffin Theatre, and it operated as a combination vaudeville and movie theater from the beginning.
This was the second theater opened at St. Catharines by the Griffin Amusement Company. The first, Griffin’s Family Theatre, was a nickelodeon opened in 1908, and was John Griffin’s first venture outside Toronto. Both it and the new Griffin Theatre begun in 1913 and opened in 1915 were designed by local architect Thomas Husted Wiley. The Griffin Amusement Company (not related to the later chain of the same name in Texas) at its peak operated at least 34 theaters.
Odeon pulled out in 1962 and taken over by Canadian Theatres in 1965. It closed on May 6th, 1973 for rebuilding into the Town Cinemas 1 & 2, which reopened on August 3rd, 1973.
More to come…
Fire damage on August 4th early in the morning
It opened again on the 15th..
The grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the plans for the 1973 remodeling of the Palace Theatre into the Town Cinemas were drawn by architect Grant R(ussell) Sauder.
Closed in 1992 by Cineplex Odeon and new management reopened on February 12th, 1993 as a discount cinema. Grand opening ad posted.