Barrymore's Music Hall
327 Bank Street,
Ottawa,
ON
K2P 1X9
327 Bank Street,
Ottawa,
ON
K2P 1X9
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Functions: Retail
Styles: Beaux-Arts
Previous Names: Imperial Theatre, Pandora's Box, Barrymorre's Music Hall
Nearby Theaters
Opened August 24, 1914 as “Canada’s Theatre Beautiful”, the Imperial Theatre seated 1,091, and was Ottawa’s classiest movie theatre until the opening of the Loew’s in 1920. For years it catered to children with Saturday serials.
The Imperial Theatre closed as a movie theatre in 1955. It was split horizontally to accommodate retail uses along the sidewalk while the Beaux-Arts auditorium upstairs is still largely intact. In 1971 it became Pandora’s Box striptease club. Since 1978 it has functioned as Barrymore’s Music Hall, one of Canada’s top live music venues. Using the former balcony area which is now a multi-tiered room with 6-levels on 3 floors, the capacity is now 400. By 2024 it had changed names and became Wicked Wanda’s Emporium, an adult store. The foyer was in use as a cannabis dispensary.
Contributed by
Alain Miguelez
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Exterior, 1938:
http://ao.minisisinc.com/Webimages/I0012531.jpg
Interior views, 1947:
http://ao.minisisinc.com/Webimages/I0012528.jpg
http://ao.minisisinc.com/Webimages/I0012532.jpg
Became Pandora’s Box strip club in 1971. Timeline and history in below links with photos.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/timeline-imperial-theatre-pandoras-box-barrymores-music-hall
https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/memories-of-pandoras-box/
http://wheelehouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-imperial-theatre.html
This should be listed as closed. From the Venues Wikipedia Page
The club’s owner filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and cancelled the building’s operations. It reopened in 1996 after its acquisition by Eugene Haslam, the owner of Zaphod Beeblebrox. Haslam instituted the custom of “theme nights”; Sunday being 80’s retro night and Thursdays being retro 90’s night. These nights have become two of the most popular nights in Ottawa’s nightlife.[citation needed]
In August 2008, scheduled concerts were cancelled and operations suspended due to the apparent sale of the venue to a new owner.[1] Barrymore’s reopened on 11 September, and resumed a regular schedule of events after Montreal-based club operator Vince Simeone and George Syriannis became the building’s new tenants. Barrymore’s is now owned and operated by George Syriannis.[2]
By March 2021, the condition of the building had deteriorated sufficiently that the landlord, Louis Antonakos, was ordered by the City of Ottawa to make urgent repairs or face closure.[3] Later that same month, Antonakos appealed the order.[4]
As of August 2025, the foyer now acts as a cannabis dispensary.
The 2024 Google Maps image shows that the strip club David mentions looks to be Wicked Wanda’s Emporium - that appears to be still operating.