About
Several days after news reports in October of Cineplex closing the Park Theatre in Cambie Village, Corinne Lea of the Rio on Broadway off Commercial announced that the Rio would lead a team of people from the film industry to take over the Park Theatre. There are major film industry names attached to the team.
Opening in 1941, the Theatre has been in operation for 84 years. The building was designed by Kaplan & Sprachman, a Toronto firm well known for designing theatres in the Art deco and Art moderne styles through the 1930s and 1940s such as The Vogue Theatre downtown. The Park Theatre is listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register but not as protected property. Art Deco is a style that mixes avant garde with historical styles and often expressed by dramatic, sculptural forms along with bold geometric shapes.
After decades of operation by different corporations, the Park Theatre will be operated by a local, independent business known for delivering a mix of film, live stage performances, and full bar service at the Rio. Ownership of the real estate the Park Theatre is on remains the same; they are quoted in the Vancouver Sun saying:
“Having owned the Park Theatre for over 40 years, we recognize its significance as an essential part of the Vancouver cultural scene and the backbone of Cambie Village. We are proud to be custodians of that legacy and to see it continue to play a key role in the city.”
Why on the Top10
For a few days, there was a lot of concern, sadness and reflection on the potential loss of the Park Theatre with the Cineplex announcement that it would stop running the theatre. People on social media expressed grief over the loss of a cultural and community space. You see people express what they like about it, the smell of popcorn, the sight of a long line and crowd outside, the communal activity of watching a film with a group of people, the joy of seeing a full theatre, a completely different experience that this one-screen theatre offers that a corporate megaplex can’t or doesn’t. The news of the Rio stepping in brings joy; there is an excitement and pride in small and local, the promise of local control and attention to local community needs. Maybe it’s a feeling of heart.
In 2018, there was a popular restaurant across the street called Pronto/Prontino which was forced to close because the building was purchased to be demolished and redeveloped. We wrote about that loss because the Pronto was a fundamental part of the human network and health of Cambie Village and the neighbourhood. This ecosystem type relationship applies to the Park Theatre as well. These are important interdependencies between the combination of restaurants, shops and dessert, beverage, ice cream places and a cinema. Cinefiles will know that Vancouver’s last video rental shop -Video Cat- is across the street. But there is also a connection to the wider cultural life of Vancouver enabled by the dwindling small, older places across the city.
In a Vancouver where the direction is on bigness, economic windfalls from global capitalism, big density megaprojects that make more sense for corporate commercial, there is still some time to appreciate and experience the merits of a public place and neighbourhood that is local, and small and not feel too overwhelmed.
We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia
