Yah, as a single that only lasted up to ‘87, I suspected a platter system was never installed. That’s good though! That would have meant that an operator was there consistantly to monitor the film and projectors, which would have equalled a better presentation.
Here’s a really cool website. I haven’t been able to see the 360 degree views yet as i have really bad dial-up and no QuickTime Player. Check it out: View link
Cinemas 3 & 4 were located on the site of an old parking lot. When the Ramada was digging up Cinema 3 for the pool, they discovered:
a. An ancient aboriginal garbage site
b. an underground stream
The screens were kind of small in these theatres, but in 1 & 2, there was nice big screens, balcony stadium seating, as well as a sloped floor, among outher things. The ceiling in 1 was orangey-red and the ceiling in 2 was purple. The ceiling had 6 vaults with a lite bar in them, and coloured rectangles. Each theatre also had red, black and purple seats.
For pictures of the Cineplex Odeon Garrick Cinemas that I took, please visit: http://www.film-tech.com (Click Pictures, then scroll down to “Singles, Doubles, Tripples, Quads”, and it will be under Cineplex Odeon Garrick Cinemas 4).
If anybody is interested in joining a group to restore Winnipeg’s Metropolitan Theatre, send an e-mail to with:
Your name
A phone number (optional)
If the numbers prove it to be favourable, we plan to show CentreVenture, the city’s arm-length downtown revival committee, that there’s still a strong interest to bring the Met back up to its original condition.
Please, spread the word. Let’s nurse it back to health to ensure we do not lose our last ‘reel’ picture palace!
Didn’t the sconces have several different bulbs in them? A document I have here by the Friends says: “If you look up at the 4ft. dome, you can see a recess at the outside edge. There were over 100 [coloured] lights in that recess, White, Yellow, Orange, Blue and Red.”
Now that that comes up, if the dome was 40 feet, then the screen must have been a little larger… which seems impossible due to two things… This quote from the same document will help me explain my point: “With the distance from the projector to the screen being 102ft., the picture was 17ft. high.”
If the screen was maxed in CinemaScope with a ratio of 2.35:1, and that makes it a common height screen, then the picture would be 17' by 40' roughly. In Flat (1.85:1), the screen would be roghly 31' by 17'. Aswell, the screen frame was four sections (a rectangle with three pieces of wood running down the frame, in 10ft. intervals) so that would make it 40 feet. Does anybody know the actual size of the Met’s screen?
“I’m assuming that FP stripped the place of all equipment before they departed. I’m a little surprised that most other fittings are still inside.”
What fittings do you mean? The seats were real ‘old school’, so sometimes companies leave those behind. Cineplex left the seats in the Garrick, while FP threw out the ones from the NorthStar in a dumpster.
The last time I was in the Met was 1999, three times suring the summer tours for the Pan Am Games. Its in pretty decent shape. The front stage wall, to the right by the loge has crumbled poorly, because of leaks. The theatre now has a new roof, so that will really help the theatre. When I was in there, all the seats and carpet were still in it, as well as drapes (in the 7 large windows). The ceiling in the lower lobby (the avadcado type planking) had been taken down quite a bit to expose the plaster detail underneath, which was alright look, but had many steel bars drilled into it to support the dropped ceiling. The tours did not let us see the booth or the hallways down either side of the auditorium, but there were stacks of music stands that they apparently found underneath the stage. All glass on the lower level has been covered by plywood, and inside the building, insulated with 2x4s and insulation and vapour barrier. The concession looked small but clean. I also learned of a secret passage way in the mezzanine that leads to the projection booth.
The theatre has four large industrial electric furnaces currently pumping warm air into the building to keep it dry and intact, and there’s also a really good security system on the building.
I believe it is time to shake things up again. I’d like to see Friends Of The Met get back together. The former management (President Dieanna Armitage) didn’t really promote the group. After the Pan Am Games tours, the group dissolved. Maybe people here would be interested in bringing the group back to life, but maybe as “The Metropolitan Foundation” or something like that as the Friends may have left a sour taste is some people’s mouths (Thomas Sill Foundation donated $15,000, and the group dissolved shortly after). This method of community citizens restoring old palaces has been quite successful all over the world. Why would the city want to deter a group away from saving it? It would be a lot cheaper, raise a lot more awareness and would probably go over quite well, with the proper management that is!
The Met’s chandelier was on a pulley, so that it could be lowered and raised (for cleaning, etc.). When Friends Of The Met were in there, they only turned on the sconces and stage lights, and even in recent artciles, they never tunr on the chandelier or ceiling lights. Its fairly bright in that auditorium though. Measures have been taken to keep the chandelier from falling. I guess the wiring too old to trust?
Does anyone know about the Met’s presentation? When it was just running films as Famous Players in its later years, did the dome light up every colour, or did it just have white light bulbs? Did any of the sconces, stage, dome, chandelier or ceiling lights operate independently?
I believe the Met’s curtain was white. Its gone now, as is the screen (Famous Players usually just rips through the screen to take the speakers from behind). I believe older curtains (not sure if they’re original, but the Friends did mention something about gold) were found rolled up and tucked away up in the screen well, above the screen in the stage area.
The ceiling in the lobby was about 3" wide horizontal metal planks that covered the original plaster decoration. The original plaster is still up there in decent condition. They also installed flourescent lighting that was flush with this ceiling in the lobby.
Those recessed glass fixtures look like the ceiling lights that are currently manufactured (they look like a boob wearing a niple boustier). They’re still there.
As for the Met’s chandelier, its not original, although it is very spectacular. The original was more basic or simple, like the Capitol’s, and was probably put in in the 30’s, when Emmanual Briffa re-did the theatre.
The Capitol had a ‘sunburst’ chandelier that was dismantled when it was divided. They were both beautiful theatres, but the Capitol seemed a lot more detailed and ornate. What really made the Met seem bland was how the walls were painted a pink-rust(ish) colour, and the ceiling was painted torquoise(ish). The detail of the figures on the ceiling suffered from this paint job. The avacado green dropped ceiling in the lobby looks pretty shabby as well.
I frequently talk to Famous Player’s equipment company, which handles installing and ripping out equipment. I have been informed by several different people, including an employee who worked there back in the 80s/90s that it never had digital- only stereo.
I’m running through my arcieves again. Its very possible I’m confusing it with something else. I’ll update it as soon as I can.
As for the theatre itself. I’m too young to have visited the Met, but I did tour it during the Pan Am Games (3 times) and joined Friends of The Met, and I really liked it. The only thing about the Met is that its almost bland. Even when it first opened it didn’t have gold all over the auditroium, etc.
The Capitol was much nicer, in my opinion. Its sub-division was a horrible renovation, but even when I exclusively toured it in 2001 (already condemned) it still looked beautiful- and the whole “its gone too far” stuff turned out to be remarkably false. The only things that warranted those comments were the 70’s renovations that fell down, such as drop sheet rock ceilings. The winged angels and everything else glittered from the flashlight.
This was not to diss the Met, but its hard to talk about either one of these theatres individually- They both kind of go hand-in-hand.
To be exact, Cinema 1 had 689 seats, while Cinema 2 had 456. It also never had digital sound, but was known for its two very large screens.
When it originally opened it had:
Cinema 1:
2- Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 35/70mm Projectors
2- Xebex Supersol 4kw Lamphouses
Famous Players custom GS Showman II Automation
Cinema 2:
2- Cinemecanica Victoria 8 35/70mm Projectors
2- Xebex Hi-Beam III 3kw Lamphouses
Famous Players custom GS Showman II Automation
It closed on December 2, 1999, which was the day before SilverCity Polo Park was opened. It re-opened for a few months in 2001.
Equipment when re-opened:
Cinema 1:
1- Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 Projector (35mm only)
1- Strong Super 80 4kw Lamphouse
1- Strong Alpha Platter Film Transport
Famous Players custom CineQ automation.
Cinema 2:
1- Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 Projector (35mm only)
1- Strong Super 80 3kw Lamphouse
1- Strong Alpha Platter Film Transport
Famous Players custom CineQ automation.
The Capitol Theatre apparently had best Dolby Stereo sound system in Winnipeg.
This was stated by Paul McKie and Randall King when they did ratings of each theatre in town.
Yah, as a single that only lasted up to ‘87, I suspected a platter system was never installed. That’s good though! That would have meant that an operator was there consistantly to monitor the film and projectors, which would have equalled a better presentation.
Here’s a really cool website. I haven’t been able to see the 360 degree views yet as i have really bad dial-up and no QuickTime Player. Check it out: View link
Cinemas 3 & 4 were located on the site of an old parking lot. When the Ramada was digging up Cinema 3 for the pool, they discovered:
a. An ancient aboriginal garbage site
b. an underground stream
The screens were kind of small in these theatres, but in 1 & 2, there was nice big screens, balcony stadium seating, as well as a sloped floor, among outher things. The ceiling in 1 was orangey-red and the ceiling in 2 was purple. The ceiling had 6 vaults with a lite bar in them, and coloured rectangles. Each theatre also had red, black and purple seats.
For pictures of the Cineplex Odeon Garrick Cinemas that I took, please visit:
http://www.film-tech.com (Click Pictures, then scroll down to “Singles, Doubles, Tripples, Quads”, and it will be under Cineplex Odeon Garrick Cinemas 4).
Also:
http://www.ramadamarlborough.com (I whipped this webpage up in a few hours. Click Conference Centre in the top grid).
“The Metropolitan Theatre Foundation”
If anybody is interested in joining a group to restore Winnipeg’s Metropolitan Theatre, send an e-mail to with:
Your name
A phone number (optional)
If the numbers prove it to be favourable, we plan to show CentreVenture, the city’s arm-length downtown revival committee, that there’s still a strong interest to bring the Met back up to its original condition.
Please, spread the word. Let’s nurse it back to health to ensure we do not lose our last ‘reel’ picture palace!
Can anyone verify the Met was a changeover house its entire life? Anyone know if it had an automation system?
The single screen Garrick opened in 1929. The skeleton of the building (Cinemas 1 & 2) is the original 1929 structure.
It had 1917 seats:
Cinema 1= 607 Seats
Cinema 2= 778 Seats
Cinema 3= 260 Seats
Cinema 4= 272 Seats
Is anyone actually interested in re-creating the Friends of The Met? I e-mailed CentreVenture earlier but have not received anything back.
If you’re interested, I’m setting up this e-mail address:
I have a vertical file for that fire incident. It was during Airplane II and the article is dated December 20, 1982.
Didn’t the sconces have several different bulbs in them? A document I have here by the Friends says: “If you look up at the 4ft. dome, you can see a recess at the outside edge. There were over 100 [coloured] lights in that recess, White, Yellow, Orange, Blue and Red.”
Now that that comes up, if the dome was 40 feet, then the screen must have been a little larger… which seems impossible due to two things… This quote from the same document will help me explain my point: “With the distance from the projector to the screen being 102ft., the picture was 17ft. high.”
If the screen was maxed in CinemaScope with a ratio of 2.35:1, and that makes it a common height screen, then the picture would be 17' by 40' roughly. In Flat (1.85:1), the screen would be roghly 31' by 17'. Aswell, the screen frame was four sections (a rectangle with three pieces of wood running down the frame, in 10ft. intervals) so that would make it 40 feet. Does anybody know the actual size of the Met’s screen?
“I’m assuming that FP stripped the place of all equipment before they departed. I’m a little surprised that most other fittings are still inside.”
What fittings do you mean? The seats were real ‘old school’, so sometimes companies leave those behind. Cineplex left the seats in the Garrick, while FP threw out the ones from the NorthStar in a dumpster.
The last time I was in the Met was 1999, three times suring the summer tours for the Pan Am Games. Its in pretty decent shape. The front stage wall, to the right by the loge has crumbled poorly, because of leaks. The theatre now has a new roof, so that will really help the theatre. When I was in there, all the seats and carpet were still in it, as well as drapes (in the 7 large windows). The ceiling in the lower lobby (the avadcado type planking) had been taken down quite a bit to expose the plaster detail underneath, which was alright look, but had many steel bars drilled into it to support the dropped ceiling. The tours did not let us see the booth or the hallways down either side of the auditorium, but there were stacks of music stands that they apparently found underneath the stage. All glass on the lower level has been covered by plywood, and inside the building, insulated with 2x4s and insulation and vapour barrier. The concession looked small but clean. I also learned of a secret passage way in the mezzanine that leads to the projection booth.
The theatre has four large industrial electric furnaces currently pumping warm air into the building to keep it dry and intact, and there’s also a really good security system on the building.
I believe it is time to shake things up again. I’d like to see Friends Of The Met get back together. The former management (President Dieanna Armitage) didn’t really promote the group. After the Pan Am Games tours, the group dissolved. Maybe people here would be interested in bringing the group back to life, but maybe as “The Metropolitan Foundation” or something like that as the Friends may have left a sour taste is some people’s mouths (Thomas Sill Foundation donated $15,000, and the group dissolved shortly after). This method of community citizens restoring old palaces has been quite successful all over the world. Why would the city want to deter a group away from saving it? It would be a lot cheaper, raise a lot more awareness and would probably go over quite well, with the proper management that is!
The Met’s chandelier was on a pulley, so that it could be lowered and raised (for cleaning, etc.). When Friends Of The Met were in there, they only turned on the sconces and stage lights, and even in recent artciles, they never tunr on the chandelier or ceiling lights. Its fairly bright in that auditorium though. Measures have been taken to keep the chandelier from falling. I guess the wiring too old to trust?
Does anyone know about the Met’s presentation? When it was just running films as Famous Players in its later years, did the dome light up every colour, or did it just have white light bulbs? Did any of the sconces, stage, dome, chandelier or ceiling lights operate independently?
I believe the Met’s curtain was white. Its gone now, as is the screen (Famous Players usually just rips through the screen to take the speakers from behind). I believe older curtains (not sure if they’re original, but the Friends did mention something about gold) were found rolled up and tucked away up in the screen well, above the screen in the stage area.
The ceiling in the lobby was about 3" wide horizontal metal planks that covered the original plaster decoration. The original plaster is still up there in decent condition. They also installed flourescent lighting that was flush with this ceiling in the lobby.
Those recessed glass fixtures look like the ceiling lights that are currently manufactured (they look like a boob wearing a niple boustier). They’re still there.
As for the Met’s chandelier, its not original, although it is very spectacular. The original was more basic or simple, like the Capitol’s, and was probably put in in the 30’s, when Emmanual Briffa re-did the theatre.
Last i had heard, this theatre had closed… Anyone know what’s up?
This was also apparently the very first theatre in Winnipeg.
The Capitol had a ‘sunburst’ chandelier that was dismantled when it was divided. They were both beautiful theatres, but the Capitol seemed a lot more detailed and ornate. What really made the Met seem bland was how the walls were painted a pink-rust(ish) colour, and the ceiling was painted torquoise(ish). The detail of the figures on the ceiling suffered from this paint job. The avacado green dropped ceiling in the lobby looks pretty shabby as well.
I frequently talk to Famous Player’s equipment company, which handles installing and ripping out equipment. I have been informed by several different people, including an employee who worked there back in the 80s/90s that it never had digital- only stereo.
dwm, can you drop me an e-mail? I want to talk about the Met with you. Since you worked there, there’s some questions I have for you.
My e-mail is
According to industry technicians, the Capitol remained as a changeover house until it closed, as did the Met.
Equipment wise, it had:
Cinema 1:
2- Cinemeccanica VICTORIA 10 Projectors
2- Xebex Supersol 4kw Lamphouses
Cinema 2:
2- Strong Simplex XL Projectors
2- Xebex Hi-Beam III 3kw Lamphouses
It upgraded its carbon arc (like two welding rods making contact to prodcue light) lamphouses in 1979 when it was divided.
I’m running through my arcieves again. Its very possible I’m confusing it with something else. I’ll update it as soon as I can.
As for the theatre itself. I’m too young to have visited the Met, but I did tour it during the Pan Am Games (3 times) and joined Friends of The Met, and I really liked it. The only thing about the Met is that its almost bland. Even when it first opened it didn’t have gold all over the auditroium, etc.
The Capitol was much nicer, in my opinion. Its sub-division was a horrible renovation, but even when I exclusively toured it in 2001 (already condemned) it still looked beautiful- and the whole “its gone too far” stuff turned out to be remarkably false. The only things that warranted those comments were the 70’s renovations that fell down, such as drop sheet rock ceilings. The winged angels and everything else glittered from the flashlight.
This was not to diss the Met, but its hard to talk about either one of these theatres individually- They both kind of go hand-in-hand.
Here’s the Garrick’s old equipment:
(Compiled from http://www.film-tech.com))
Cinema 1:
2- Cinemecannica VICTORIA 10 Projectors
2- Xebex Supersol 4kw Lamphouses
Cinemation MKIV Automation
*A Potts Platter later replaced the right machine in 1999.
Dolby Digital Sound
Cinema 2:
2- Ballantyne VIP Pro 35 (35/70mm) Projectors
2- Strong Ultra 80 5kw Lamphouses
Cinemation MKIV Automation
*A Potts Platter later replaced the left machine in 1980.
DTS Digital Sound
Cinema 3:
2- Cinemeccanica VICTORIA 8 Projectors
2- Strong Super Lume-X 1.6kw Lamphouses
BTS Pegboard Automation
*A Potts Platter later replaced the right machine in 1980.
Mono Sound
Cinema 4:
2- Ballantyne VIP Pro 35 (35/70mm) Projectors
2- Strong Super 80 3kw Lamphouses
BTS Pegboard Automation
*A Potts Platter later replaced the left machine in 1999.
Dolby Stereo Sound
IMO, The Garrick was the best place to catch a movie. Sadly, its closure was not made public until the day after it closed.
Just to add one thing: It did have Dolby Stereo, but was also never THX certified.
To be exact, Cinema 1 had 689 seats, while Cinema 2 had 456. It also never had digital sound, but was known for its two very large screens.
When it originally opened it had:
Cinema 1:
2- Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 35/70mm Projectors
2- Xebex Supersol 4kw Lamphouses
Famous Players custom GS Showman II Automation
Cinema 2:
2- Cinemecanica Victoria 8 35/70mm Projectors
2- Xebex Hi-Beam III 3kw Lamphouses
Famous Players custom GS Showman II Automation
It closed on December 2, 1999, which was the day before SilverCity Polo Park was opened. It re-opened for a few months in 2001.
Equipment when re-opened:
Cinema 1:
1- Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 Projector (35mm only)
1- Strong Super 80 4kw Lamphouse
1- Strong Alpha Platter Film Transport
Famous Players custom CineQ automation.
Cinema 2:
1- Cinemeccanica Victoria 5 Projector (35mm only)
1- Strong Super 80 3kw Lamphouse
1- Strong Alpha Platter Film Transport
Famous Players custom CineQ automation.
Links:
http://www.cinemecannica.com
http://strong-cinema.com
*Xebex is now out of business.
The Metropolitan (MET) certainly wasn’t a THX house. It didn’t even have stereo sound up until the last two years of its film life.
It did have Bauer U2 35/70mm Projectors and Xebex Hi-Beam III 3kw Lamphouses. The screen was maxed in CinemaScope at 40 feet wide by 17 feet high.
I verify the 1400-1475 seat count. It maybe had 1850 seats back in the 40s or 50s.
The beautiful architecture in the auditorium was covered in pink rust paint on the walls and torquoise paint on the ceiling.