1912 – Gaiety Theatre, Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
Described by its owners as “The Finest Photo Play Theatre in North America” with seating for 750. There was no balcony, but it had a raised rear section similar to cinemas today. Elaborate plaster cornices and moldings around the ceiling were the main decorative features, along with large ornamental iron ventilator ceiling grilles. There was a central plaster cartouche above the proscenium. Later in the 1940s heavily remodelled externally and internally, the pilasters and their bases along the Colony Street facade could still be seen in its modern incarnation. Closed in 1973, it reopened it as the Eve Theatre, showing soft porn movies. Renamed the Colony two years later and showed more regular films. Closed in 1986 and demolished with the remainder of the blocl for One Canada Centre.
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Published March 16, 2026
