Remembering Elmwood’s local theatres

Jim Smith By: Jim Smith Posted:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2021 (691 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Elmwood has had two movie theatres over the years, both were small and seated about 500.
The Garden Theatre was located on the west side of Henderson Highway between Hespeler and Hart avenues, and opened on Sept. 18, 1915. It was a silent-movie theatre with a piano player providing the background music. The theatre was built at a cost of $20,000 by owner Manuel Gonsalves and offered evening shows at 7:15 p.m. and matinees on Saturdays and holidays at 2:15 pm
The Garden closed in 1930 owing to the arrival of the Great Depression and the coming of ‘talking pictures’. The building burned down in the early 1930s due to arson but the empty shell remained on the site until around 1940. For a number of years after the fire, children would climb the fence surrounding it to collect pieces of glass that had melted into round balls.
The Elm Theatre was located at 392 Talbot Ave., and was also called the Cameo Theatre and the Elmwood Theatre for short periods of time. It opened in 1910 as Morrow Hall, which was mostly used for public meetings for the first 24 years of its life.
In 1934, the Elm became a second-run movie theatre showing films that had already been shown elsewhere in Winnipeg movie theatres. As a second-run theatre, its admission prices were lower – adults paid just 15 cents and children 10 cents. It closed in 1947 due to the competition of the much larger downtown theatres.
In 1947, the building was bought by the Roman Catholic church and used as a mission building for St. Gerald’s Parish.
In the late 1950s it began showing German-language movies to serve the growing German-speaking population of northeast Winnipeg. It closed for good as a theatre in 1960 and was used as a meeting hall for a number of years
From the ’60s to the early 2000s it was used as meeting place, a beauty and barbers hop and as a grocery store. In the late 2010s ,the building was torn down after almost 100 years of use.
Jim Smith is a community correspondent for Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan. Email him at jimsmith@mts.net 

Elmwood has had two movie theatres over the years, both were small and seated about 500.

The Garden Theatre was located on the west side of Henderson Highway between Hespeler and Hart avenues, and opened on Sept. 18, 1915. It was a silent-movie theatre with a piano player providing the background music. The theatre was built at a cost of $20,000 by owner Manuel Gonsalves and offered evening shows at 7:15 p.m. and matinees on Saturdays and holidays at 2:15 pm

Supplied photo The Elm Theatre on Talbot Avenue, as it appeared in the 1990s.
Supplied photo The Elm Theatre on Talbot Avenue, as it appeared in the 1990s.

The Garden closed in 1930 owing to the arrival of the Great Depression and the coming of ‘talking pictures’. The building burned down in the early 1930s due to arson but the empty shell remained on the site until around 1940. For a number of years after the fire, children would climb the fence surrounding it to collect pieces of glass that had melted into round balls.

The Elm Theatre was located at 392 Talbot Ave., and was also called the Cameo Theatre and the Elmwood Theatre for short periods of time. It opened in 1910 as Morrow Hall, which was mostly used for public meetings for the first 24 years of its life.

In 1934, the Elm became a second-run movie theatre showing films that had already been shown elsewhere in Winnipeg movie theatres. As a second-run theatre, its admission prices were lower – adults paid just 15 cents and children 10 cents. It closed in 1947 due to the competition of the much larger downtown theatres.

In 1947, the building was bought by the Roman Catholic church and used as a mission building for St. Gerald’s Parish.

In the late 1950s it began showing German-language movies to serve the growing German-speaking population of northeast Winnipeg. It closed for good as a theatre in 1960 and was used as a meeting hall for a number of years

From the ’60s to the early 2000s it was used as meeting place, a beauty and barbers hop and as a grocery store. In the late 2010s ,the building was torn down after almost 100 years of use.

Jim Smith is a community correspondent for Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan. Email him at jimsmith@mts.net 

Jim Smith

Jim Smith

Jim Smith is a community correspondent for Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan. Email him at jimsmith@mts.net

   Read full biography

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

The Herald

LOAD MORE