For most of the 20^th century, downtown was the hub of cinema in St. Catharines. At least ten movie theatres have come and gone from the city’s core, usually with five or so operating at the same time. Most lasted for a decade or two, but one kept the reels spinning for about 90 years. In this episode, Sean heads to the former Griffin Theatre, though you might better remember it as the Palace, or Town Cinemas. History from Here is a video series presented by the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre. 

This building opened as Griffin’s Opera House on May 6, 1915. The Griffin family owned one of the largest theatre chains in Canada at the time, including one just a block over. Griffin’s Family Theatre – originally called the Lyric – had opened in 1908 just about 100 metres down St. Paul Street. That theatre was small, not much more than a retail storefront, but it must have been successful because five years later, Griffin was breaking ground on the largest theatre this city had seen to that point. The two Griffin locations operated simultaneously until 1920. 

Griffin’s Opera House originally had seating for about 1400. Unlike modern cinemas, this was a true theatre, with a single auditorium, a balcony, and a full slate of entertainment programming. The Griffin hosted live orchestras, vaudeville shows, plays, comic acts, regimental bands, dance revues, and public events. Live acts who appeared at the Griffin include Canadian tenor Edward Johnson, famed actress Fannie Ward, and local piano virtuoso Lulu Lonergan. And then, of course, there were the films. 

The Griffin incorporated “photoplays” into its entertainment roster from the beginning, sometimes as standalone features and sometimes as a part of variety shows. The theatre was designed to be a state-of-the-art facility for moving pictures and included two projectors to eliminate the wait time between reels. Opening night featured Charlie Chaplin’s now classic, The Tramp, which was the film’s first screening in Canada. During this era, all films were silent and, at the Griffin, they were usually accompanied by an orchestra. One notable incident happened in 1918 when four reels of highly flammable nitrocellulose film caught fire during a screening. The orchestra kept playing to keep the audience occupied and relaxed while firefighters, who only had to walk over from next door, contained the blaze.  

The Griffin has gone through numerous transformations in its history. By the mid-1920s, it was more often branded as Griffin’s Theatre rather than Opera House, no-doubt to better reflect the facility’s use as a cinema and modern entertainment venue. In 1929, the building was renovated and re-opened as the Palace Theatre, though it still featured a single auditorium and continued to host both film and live performances. The Palace era lasted until 1973, and it included some of the space’s most impressive live features. Superstar British actress and singer Gracie Fields was here in 1941 as part of a wartime tour in support of troops. In 1968, Gordon Lightfoot played the Palace. Canada’s folk-rock troubadour had initially been booked to perform at the Collegiate, but the rising star’s popularity necessitated a venue upgrade.  

In 1948, the St. Catharines Civic Orchestra was founded by conductor Jan Wolanek with the Palace Theatre as its home base. Palace management donated a Sunday timeslot to the upstart group for their first concert, and the relationship stuck for 21 years. In that time the orchestra grew its reputation and featured impressive guest soloists including Teresa Stratas and Glenn Gould. With the facilities here ageing and the orchestra growing, the organization moved to a new home at Brock University in 1969, then back downtown to the Performing Arts Centre in 2015. The group is now known as the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. 

After a large fire in 1973, this theatre was once again renovated and reopened as the Town Cinemas, this time with two auditoriums for simultaneous showings. The Town Cinemas was a true movie theatre in the modern sense, no longer hosting live performances. The new theatre experienced another fire on opening night, which destroyed the old stage area, but spared the newly renovated cinema portion. After some cleanup, the Town Cinemas was off and running. 

The Town Cinemas represents Big Cinema’s last major push in downtown St. Catharines. It lasted some thirty years, but times were changing. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, St. Catharines was rapidly suburbanizing. Traditional downtown theatres had trouble competing with modern multiplex chains with their massive parking lots, numerous screens, and flashy amenities. Ownership here changed a few times and, by the 1990s, the Town Cinemas was largely relegated to second-run showings. There were hopes to refurbish the theatre to look and operate as it did as Griffin’s Opera House in 1915, stage shows and all, but the necessary financial backing never materialized. In 2004, the theatre stopped screening movies altogether. The space was briefly used for amateur rock concerts, but it has sat empty for many years.  

Movie screenings did return to the corner of St. Paul and Carlisle in 2016 when the Film House opened across the street at the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre. The Film House is community-focussed and programs a mixture of independent and international films, blockbusters and classics, as well as documentaries and Canadiana, all in an intimate 199-seat theatre. As for here at the Griffin, this theatre was a source of entertainment for St. Catharinites for 90 years. What’s next for the space remains to be seen, but, with a little work and imagination, sounds of laughter and joy may echo through the auditorium at the old Griffin once more.