I remember Tuesday night movies on Granville very popular in the 1990s.
The downfall of the Granville Theatres was the change to stadium seating, which made the Capitol 6 (Famous Players) and the Granville 7 (Cineplex) obsolete.
Famous Players closed Capitol 6 and opened the Paramount Theatre with stadium seating, which then became the Scotiabank Theatre after the merger with Cineplex in 2005. Then Empire Theatres which had taken over the Granville 7 sold off assets in 2013 to Cineplex and Landmark Theatres, and the Granville 7 closed.
This was also about the time that Granville was becoming more nightclubby, with Downtown South warehouse nightclubs forced into Granville Street's theatre spaces (as Downtown South was developed with condos), with the theatre operators moving away because it wasn't a "family friendly" environment anymore.
A couple of independent cinemas on Granville may have also converted to nightclubs at about that time.
... and of course, The Vogue was also a movie theatre - I remember lining up in the 1980s to see The Empire Strikes Back there.
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Paradise Theatre
919 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
Originally opened as the Studio Theatre on March 30, 1949 with Michael Denison in “My Brother Jonathan”. In 1972 it was renamed Eve Theatre. It was renamed Lyric Theatre in 1978. Later going back to its Studio Theatre name, followed on May 8, 1981 when it became the Towne Cinema. I then became Vancouver’s 2nd Paradise Theatre in March 1989. Operating as a second-run movie theatre, it was closed on February 27, 2000.
It was converted into a nightclub named ‘Tonic’, by 2013 it had become a bar named Joe’s Apartment. In 2015 it was operating as a nightclub named ‘Studio’.
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https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/36707
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Plaza Theatre
881 Granville St., Vancouver, BC
March 17th 1908 the Maple Leaf theatre opened.
September 1st 1936 the Maple Leaf had been torn down and the new Plaza theatre had been built in the same location and opened this day.
The Plaza had around 900 seats.
Odeon theatres bought the Plaza in 1941 and picked up the Paradise, Dunbar and the Vogue.
On March 20th 1963 it re-opens with Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm and becomes the (New) Odeon with a reduced balcony size and some seats taken out to make it more comfortable.
The Odeon had a balcony like the Coronet and Vogue.
Cineplex closed the Varsity, Dunbar, Vogue and the Odeon June 18th 1987 and opened the Granville 7 June 19th 1987. The last film to play at the Odeon was The Believers starring Martin Sheen. This film would be carried over next door when the Granville 7 opened the next day.
On March 18th 1988 the theatre was reopened when Famous Players took a lease on this theatre and the Dunbar and Varsity. Police Academy 5 opened this day at the Plaza. Three Men and a Baby opened the Dunbar and The Whales of August opened the Varsity. There were 680 seats at this time.
Famous Players also ran 70mm films when they reopened the Plaza including Black Rain, The Rookie and Lethal Weapon 2.
I also have a memory in 1989 when Batman had a screening and it was supposed to be at the Capitol 6 but it was changed to the Plaza and I am pretty sure it was a 70mm print. We arrived late and had to sit in the front row against the wall. Ran into Danny Glover at the concession stand and stood right behind him with his bodyguards. I thought why on earth does he need bodyguards as he was a really big guy. My friends who I went with also saw Mel Gibson there who was in town shooting Bird on a Wire.
Famous Players closed the Plaza in June 21st 1991.
July 30th 1993 Festival Cinemas leases the Plaza from Famous Players and opens it with a film called Twist. Festival Cinemas closes the Plaza September 30th 1993.
The Plaza is resurrected again for the last time January 28 1994 and closed November 30th 1996. The Plaza was leased by Jay Daulat and Martin Biggerstaff. They also leased the Hillcrest Drive-In in 1992 and with partner Art Reich they also took on the Starlight in January 1996 which also closed November 30th 1996. The Plaza at this time was listed as C-List Heritage which isn't much protection.
The Plaza was used for The Vancouver International Film Festival in 1996 and 1997 apparently.
In July 23rd 1999 the Plaza became a club of the same name and in 2009 it had changed hands yet again and became the 500 person nightclub called The Venue.
I believe The Venue closed in 2020 and put up for sale in 2021.
It currently sits empty (2024).
I hope the front of the theatre is saved from the wrecking ball like the Coronet was.
Little known fact it was originally going to be a part of the Granville 7 cinemas but the idea never went further due to costs. They did however use the Coronet theatres at the other end.
Many thanks to David Banks for helping me with his amazing detective work!
For more information and pictures of the Odeon and other Vancouver Movie Theatres as well as film advertising please join my Facebook page below.
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/128486813979056/posts/2858962884264755/
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