Uptown Theater
55 Dunlop Street West,
Barrie,
ON
L4N 1A3
55 Dunlop Street West,
Barrie,
ON
L4N 1A3
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Stinson Theatres
Previous Names: Imperial Theatre, Imperial Cinema 1 & 2, Imperial Cinema 8
Nearby Theaters
The 466-seat Imperial Theatre opened on March 18, 1937. The Capitol Theatre was located next door and the Roxy Theatre was across the street. It was twinned in the 1970’s and became the Imperial Cinemas 1 & 2. The last functioning movie theatre in downtown Barrie. Recently known as the Barrie Imperial Cinema 8, it closed in 2009 and later reopened as the Uptown Theater. It was closed with Liam Neeson in “Ordinary Love” on March 5, 2020 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It reopened only to close again on October 7, 2021 and was demolished to build condominiums.
Contributed by
Trolleyguy
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The building occupied by the Uptown Theatre was once the home of a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership, as seen in this undated photo from the Barrie Historical Archive.
I’ve been unable to discover when the building was first converted for use as a cinema, but the portion that is now the Uptown was reopened as a three-screen house in late 2009, according to this article from December 3 that year (Stinson Theatres had closed the 8-screen complex in February, 2009.) The original Imperial Theatre, opened in 1937 at 43 Dunlop Street, which had operated as screens 1 and 2 of Stinson’s Imperial 8 Cinema, was slated to be converted into an event center called the Grand Theatre. The other three auditoriums in the 8-screen complex were to be converted to retail space.
Opened on March 18, 1937 by Richard F. Garrett. Some of its original installations include a striking façade of red, black, and primrose vitro-lite panels under a prominent marquee, the interior included a lobby illuminated in blue and orange tones, plush rugs, and curtains. It was twinned in the mid-1970s and went under the name “Imperial Cinemas 1 & 2”.