Imperial Oil Centre for the Performing Arts
168 North Christina Street,
Sarnia,
ON
N7T 7H8
168 North Christina Street,
Sarnia,
ON
N7T 7H8
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Related Websites
Imperial Oil Center for the Performing Arts (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Famous Players
Architects: Harold Solomon Kaplan, Abraham Sprachman
Firms: Kaplan & Sprachman
Functions: Concerts, Stage Shows
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Capitol Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
519.344.7469
Manager:
519.332.6591
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Dec 7, 2006 — Canadian music legend Tommy Hunter comes to Sarnia
The former Capitol Theatre opened in 1936 as a local movie house which sat over 600 patrons. In 1988, after a long, successful run, the theatre closed.
Scheduled to be demolished, the theatre was saved by the Steering Committee of the Sarnia Little Theatre and its Art Deco opulence was restored.
Today, the Capitol Theatre is known as the Imperial Oil Centre for the Performing Arts, after the corporate benefactor who helped to restore it.
Contributed by
Gary Flinn
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
When it was the Capitol Theatre, it was owned and operated by the Famous Players theatre circuit.
The Archives of Ontario has a page about the theatre which you can read at View link
That page mentions that the architect of this theatre was Mandel Sprachman.
A 1947 picture from the Ontario Archives:
http://ao.minisisinc.com/Webimages/I0012555.jpg
Here is a photo circa 1952:
http://tinyurl.com/yecpaqr
The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada lists the Capitol Theatre in Sarnia, Ontario, as a 1936 project by the architectural firm of Kaplan & Sprachman for Famous Players.
1953 tornado photo added courtesy of Tony Ward. The then Capitol Theatre in the background on the far left with damaged marquee sign.