Paradise Theatre

919 Granville Street,
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1L3

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rivest266
rivest266 on January 24, 2022 at 9:54 am

Famous Players Eve pool members: Eve in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Halifax, Eden in Toronto, Eros in Montréal.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 24, 2022 at 9:53 am

Heres the timeline for this cinema. March 30th, 1949 opened as Studio by 20th Century Theatres

1969 sold to Famous Players 446 seats

September 7th, 1972 reopened as Eve by Famous Players Eve Pool. Adult movies are shown

1978 renamed Lyric

May 18th, 1981 renamed Towne by Landmark Cinemas

August 31st, 1984 renamed Studio

April 14th, 1989 renamed Paradise

1993 taken over by Caprice Theatres

1999 closed

rivest266
rivest266 on January 24, 2022 at 9:28 am

This reopened as Towne on May 8th, 1981. Grand opening ad posted.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on November 15, 2020 at 11:43 am

1981 protest of “Caligula” at Towne Cinema.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drSY72BSaQM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1MjsoNDHrchK6JvBxD16AAJf5aym7kiAOSfVdkKpF4Tu_MWeU02W0aAGQ

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on July 6, 2020 at 12:07 pm

Circa 1972 photo as Eve Theatre added courtesy David Banks.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on September 2, 2019 at 7:19 pm

Late `50s photo added courtesy Old Canada Series Facebook page.

SnoozeKing
SnoozeKing on August 15, 2019 at 6:34 pm

When I moved to Vancouver in 1975, 919 Granville was the location of the Eve, a porn theatre. There was another porn house, the Golden Kitten, farther up Granville and a third, the Venus, on Main near Prior. I didn’t go to the Eve or Venus but visited the Golden Kitten once and the stench (urine, feces, vomit, semen) was overpowering. Last I heard, the Venus was a crackhouse before being demolished. No great loss.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 25, 2018 at 9:45 am

Reopened as Lyric on August 31st, 1984. Another ad posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 19, 2018 at 4:07 pm

Opened as Studio on March 29th, 1949. Grand opening ad posted.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 30, 2018 at 9:38 pm

March 1972 photo added credit Curt Lang. Vancouver Public Library 85922F

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on April 8, 2017 at 7:51 am

1959 photo as the Studio added via Paul Walton.

hermangotlieb
hermangotlieb on August 10, 2015 at 9:55 pm

Joe’s Apartment has now become “The Studio” once again! The new owners have opened The Studio Records which is a night club/record store that lovingly recreates the original “Studio” neon sign.

It’s still not a movie theatre but it adds some much needed retro-style neon to the Granville strip.

Splashcat66
Splashcat66 on October 1, 2013 at 3:30 am

Studio/Eve/Lyric/Towne/Studio/Paradise/Tonic/Joe' Apartment.

Caligula was the first movie when the name changed to Towne. I uploaded a Vancouver Sun clipping.

Google bernice gerard towne for a July 1981 protest

DavidDymond
DavidDymond on September 9, 2013 at 4:52 pm

This theatre originally called The Studio, was a unit of Twenthieth Century Theatres, an operating partner of Famous Players Canadian Corporation!!

rl_83
rl_83 on September 8, 2013 at 6:52 pm

The Lyric didn’t have an easy time running Caligula, I remember years ago doing research on Vancouver theatres, coming across an article about the protests over the screening of this film. I’m sure that led to the longevity of the run. This was around 1981.

darrenparlett
darrenparlett on August 18, 2013 at 10:06 pm

Man imagine playing CALIGUA uncut for a year?

rl_83
rl_83 on August 18, 2013 at 8:57 pm

Now known as “ Joe’s Apartment ”, yet another bar on Granville.

Splashcat66
Splashcat66 on January 30, 2013 at 12:49 am

919 Granville was once again “Studio” between Towne and Paradise.. no giant S though http://vancouverneon.com/images3/herzog/studio1958.jpg

seanjung
seanjung on July 26, 2012 at 1:05 am

Was also once a porn theatre called Eve. Reverted to mainstream movies as Lyric and later Towne before becoming the Princess. One notable event was that as the Lyric, it ran the uncensored version of Caligula for a full year.

hermangotlieb
hermangotlieb on September 24, 2011 at 10:43 pm

I still remember going to this theatre on its opening night. They rented a pair of powerful spotlights which waved back and forth in the air.

The opening films were The Naked Gun and Twins.

The theatre was the best deal in town. They ran three movies and charged $2.50 which allowed you to see all three movies plus you could see two of the movies a second time if you wanted.