The Palace Theatre
Imagine driving down Selkirk Avenue and walking into a beautiful state of the art performance venue with a facade of an olden days theatre. You walk past the shining entry way that features the artwork of local kids, beside works from highly regarded artists, and you sit down about to take in a stirring performance/movie/community talk. You are not alone, and you experience this amazing venue and celebrate the awesomeness of alongside many other people, all of whom love the North End.
Of course, none of what you just read is real. But it's part of what I dream of what can be possible for The Palace Theatre. This week I shared with those who attended the virtual Annual General Meeting of North End Community Renewal Corporation that we have been in conversation with the owners of the building (the University of Manitoba) to see what we can do. Our next step is going to be setting up a community committee. If you want to be part of it share your email with me in the form at the bottom of this post.
Thanks to CTV Winnipeg for sharing this news article on this topic July 23, 2020
Note: I'm a board member for NECRC, it's not “my organization”. And they didn't say they “would gladly take over the buildng” but have expressed an interest in redeveloping it alongside community.
Background Info
Check out this information from the Manitoba Historical Society Website:
A former theatre building on Selkirk Avenue in Winnipeg was designed by local architect Max Blankstein and constructed in 1912 by owner Jacob Miles. Originally used for live vaudeville performances, it was later converted into a movie theatre. In 1927 a balcony was added by day labourers, increasing the theatre’s capacity to 800 people. The theatre closed in 1964 and the stage, balcony, and all interior walls were removed. The space was used successively as a department store, auction house, furniture warehouse, and bargain store. In 1997, it was sold to a group hoping to use it for live community theatre. The building has been vacant since at least 2002.
Here's some more info from Cinema Treasures Website
And here's an even more recent post from Mary Lou Dreiger from 3 years ago
