Princess Theatre

163 Gore Street,
Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 1M3

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50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on June 24, 2023 at 7:11 pm

Last operated by Cineplex Odeon.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on June 23, 2023 at 7:58 pm

The Princess Theatre opened its doors on February 12, 1917 with the photoplay “The Measure of a Man” along with a comedy reel and performances by both its five-piece orchestra and Toronto natives Will J. White and Jules Brazil (plus a couple of delays during programming process due to technical difficulties).

For the first 65 years in operation, the Princess Theatre was a single-screen movie house, and around that period, the Princess was operated by Odeon. It wasn’t until October 12, 1981 when the Princess Theatre closed as a single-screener with “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” due to twinning, and the Princess Theatre reopened as a twin-screen theater on November 27, 1981 with “Pursuit of D.B. Cooper” at Screen 1 and “Halloween II” at Screen 2.

On March 4, 1989, the Princess Theatre became local headlines after reports of multiple assaults were reported inside the theater, denying people to see “Dream A Little Dream” at one of the screens. The employee refused o allow a 14-year-old student at Mount St. Joseph College to enter although the student did show the identification card. She did allow one student in because she was wearing “that” jacket and another due to her birth certificate. Parents did receive reaction to the assaults the employee was made but gave them consequential discussions.

The Princess Theatre closed for the final time on March 15, 1990 with “Madhouse” at Screen 1 and “Tango And Cash” at Screen 2.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on November 1, 2015 at 7:28 pm

The Princess Theatre was either rebuilt or remodeled in 1939-1940, with plans by Kaplan & Sprachman. The Ontario Jewish Archives has seven photos of the project, but they are not available online.