Quote:
Originally Posted by ns_kid
According to the website Cinema Treasures, the Paramount closed on October 27, 1988, the day before the new Park Lane cinemas opened. Before it was twinned, sometime in the mid-70s, it held almost 1200 people. The old Capitol Theatre, just two blocks away, closed circa 1974, held over 2100 for both live performance and cinema. No surviving auditorium in town comes close. (The Cohn holds just over 1000; Neptune less than 500.)
Think about that in the context of downtown viability: 3300 entertainment seats removed from Barrington Street within the span of 14 years.
I don't recall much opposition to the closure of either facilitiy, certainly not the Paramount. I think people accepted the myth that large auditoriums were uneconomic and an anachronism. Other cities have proved how wrong that was.
Of course there are many people who bemoan the fact the city has no midsize performance venue (between the Cohn and the 10,000 seat Scotiabank Centre); building one from scratch today would likely be a $50-$75 million proposition.
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Thanks for the great insights, ns_kid. Very helpful.
But also, as usual, depressing. When I saw the numbers you were citing for capacity, I immediately thought of Halifax's lack of a proper performing arts centre. I mean, what an astounding, colossal, depressing, waste, of *both* theatres.
Again, where were our great Heritage Trust fighters? When heritage is at stake, where were those clowns? Off opposing a three storey development proposal somewhere, because it cut two inches into a viewplane.
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