Elgin Theatre

Elgin Theatre was a historic movie theatre at the intersection of Elgin Street and Lisgar Street in Ottawa, Ontario. It opened in 1937 as a 750-seat cinema and became one of the city's leading film venues during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Its opening presentation was the film Stand-In, establishing the theatre as a prominent downtown destination for mainstream motion pictures. The theatre's importance extended beyond ordinary exhibition. In 1947, it hosted the world premiere of Mary Pickford's Sleep, My Love, linking the venue to the wider history of Canadian film exhibition and celebrity premieres. Later that year, operator Nat Taylor and his company, 20th Century Theatres, added a second screen on an adjacent parcel. The smaller auditorium became known informally as Little Elgin. This arrangement was among the earliest dual-screen cinema developments in Canada and preceded the broader spread of multiplexes. The two-screen configuration also became a testing ground for a new programming and ticketing concept. In 1957, Taylor began placing older but still commercially viable films in the second auditorium while reserving the principal theatre for newer releases. Customers could therefore choose between films at the box office rather than being limited to a single presentation. Taylor is widely credited with helping invent the multiplex model, an approach he later expanded through larger theatre complexes and the creation of Cineplex Odeon. Elgin Theatre eventually became part of the Famous Players cinema chain. By the early 1990s, however, the building was in poor condition and the changing economics of exhibition had reduced the commercial appeal of small downtown screens. Large suburban megaplexes offered more screens, newer facilities, and broader scheduling flexibility, ironically making the traditional theatre format pioneered at Elgin less competitive. Famous Players announced the theatre's closure in 1994. Community opposition included a petition reported to have gathered 3,500 signatures, but the cinema closed in November of that year. The final presentation in the original auditorium was Quiz Show, while the second auditorium ended its run with Whale Music. Subsequent debate focused on whether the building could be adapted for cultural use. The Great Canadian Theatre Company expressed interest in relocating there, but Ottawa City Council did not support that proposal. The former theatre was ultimately redeveloped as a cluster of restaurants rather than retained as a cinema or converted into a theatre venue.

Elgin Theatre opened in 1937 at the corner of Elgin and Lisgar streets in central Ottawa. Designed and operated as a substantial downtown movie house, it contained approximately 750 seats and quickly became an important local venue for commercial film exhibition. Its first screening was Stand-In, and for decades the theatre was regarded as one of Ottawa's premier cinemas. The venue gained particular distinction in 1947 when it hosted the world premiere of Mary Pickford's Sleep, My Love. That event demonstrated the theatre's role not merely as a neighborhood cinema but also as a suitable setting for high-profile film presentations. Later in the same year, Nat Taylor, operating through 20th Century Theatres, opened a second auditorium on adjoining land. The new screen was smaller and became known as Little Elgin. The arrangement placed Elgin among the earliest Canadian cinemas to operate with two screens, following the introduction of a similar dual-screen concept at Toronto's Hollywood Theatre. The two auditoriums later supported an important change in cinema programming. In 1957, Taylor was dissatisfied with the conventional practice of replacing profitable older films whenever new releases arrived. He began showing older titles in the second auditorium while using the original theatre for current releases. This gave patrons a choice of films at one box office and is widely identified as an early, influential form of multiplex operation. Taylor subsequently developed increasingly large multiplexes and helped establish Cineplex Odeon, making the Elgin experiment significant in the history of modern cinema chains. Over time, Elgin Theatre entered the Famous Players network. Its later years reflected the pressures facing traditional downtown cinemas. The building required maintenance, while the growth of megaplexes changed audience expectations and concentrated exhibition capacity in newer, larger facilities. A small two-screen venue in an older central building became less commercially attractive, even though the multiplex model associated with Elgin had become standard across the industry. Famous Players announced the cinema's closure in 1994. Ottawa residents organized opposition, including a petition reported as carrying 3,500 signatures. The campaign did not prevent the shutdown, and the theatre closed in November. The final film shown in the principal auditorium was Quiz Show; the second auditorium ended with Whale Music. Closure led to a debate over adaptive reuse. The Great Canadian Theatre Company wanted to move into the site, offering a possible continuation of its cultural function in live performance. Ottawa City Council did not support that plan, and the former cinema was eventually converted into a restaurant complex. The site consequently lost its original theatrical use, but the theatre's contribution to Ottawa's exhibition history and to the development of the multiplex format remained part of the city's film heritage.

• 1994

  Cinema closes

  [1]Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org

  After a closure announcement and community petition, Elgin Theatre ends operations in November.

• 1957

  Dual-screen choice programming introduced

  [1]Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org

  Older films begin playing in the second auditorium while new releases remain in the original theatre, creating an early multiplex-style customer choice.

• 1947

  World premiere of Sleep, My Love

  [1]Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org

  The theatre hosts the world premiere of Mary Pickford's Sleep, My Love.

• 1947

  Second auditorium opens

  [1]Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org

  Nat Taylor's 20th Century Theatres opens an adjacent second screen, later known as Little Elgin.

• 1937

  Elgin Theatre opens

  [1]Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org

  A 750-seat cinema opens at Elgin Street and Lisgar Street in Ottawa, with Stand-In as its first film.

A prominent downtown Ottawa cinema that evolved from a single-screen movie house into an early dual-screen venue and became associated with the development of the multiplex business model.

• Cinema exhibition · 1937

  Main auditorium

  The original approximately 750-seat auditorium was the theatre's principal screening room. It presented mainstream releases and hosted notable special events, including the 1947 world premiere of Sleep, My Love. During the venue's final operation, its last film was Quiz Show.

• Cinema exhibition · 1947

  Little Elgin

  The adjacent second auditorium opened in 1947 and operated as a smaller companion screen. It enabled the theatre to retain older films while the original auditorium showed new releases, an operating practice associated with the emergence of multiplex cinemas. Its final screening was Whale Music.

• 1994

  Close the cinemaOther

  Background

  The building was in disrepair, and small downtown screens faced growing competition from larger megaplexes.

  Action taken

  Famous Players closed Elgin Theatre in November despite local opposition and a petition.

  Aftermath

  A proposed conversion for the Great Canadian Theatre Company did not proceed, and the former cinema was ultimately redeveloped for restaurant use.

  Source

• 1957

  Introduce choice-based film schedulingStrategy

  Background

  Nat Taylor wanted to keep profitable older films in circulation instead of removing them whenever new releases arrived.

  Action taken

  Older films were assigned to the second auditorium while newer releases continued in the main theatre, allowing customers to choose between two films at the box office.

  Aftermath

  The approach is widely credited as an important early step toward the multiplex model later expanded by Taylor and Cineplex Odeon.

  Source

• 1947

  Add a second auditoriumStrategy

  Background

  The operator sought to expand the venue's programming capacity on land beside the original cinema.

  Action taken

  A second screen was opened next to the original Elgin Theatre and became known as Little Elgin.

  Aftermath

  The venue became one of Canada's early dual-screen cinemas and created the physical basis for later multiplex-style programming.

  Source

1. 1Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Elgin-Winter Garden Theatre Centreheritagetrust.on.ca