Stanley Theatre
2750 Granville Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6H 3J3
2750 Granville Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6H 3J3
3 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Arts Club Theatre Company (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Famous Players
Architects: Henry Holdsby Simmonds
Functions: Live Theatre
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 17, 2013 — “South Pacific” 55th Anniversary – The Roadshow Engagements
- Oct 18, 2011 — Happy 50th, "West Side Story"
- May 21, 2010 — Happy 30th, "Empire"
- Nov 18, 2009 — Happy 50th, "Ben-Hur"
- Aug 15, 2009 — "Apocalypse Now" 30th Anniversary
Opened on December 15, 1930 with Lilian Gish in “One Romantic Night. The Stanley Theatre was operated by the Famous Players circuit. It closed as a movie theatre in September 1991. Now a live theatre, it is a well maintained example of a neighbourhood theatre for the period.
Contributed by
Stephen Davis
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
I remember this great theater so well…saw many classic films there, including ‘Star Wars’, ‘Fantasia’, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘The Untouchables’, ‘Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom’, and ‘Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade’. This theater had a sound system superior to many modern ones, in addition to being extremely well maintained. I was disgusted with Famous Players for abandoning it and with then-Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell for trying to sell it off to his developer friends. Glad to see it is well maintained, though it no longer shows movies of any sort.
It doesn’t surprise me that the town drunk tried to kill it.
The Stanley at that point, and even later on when it was THX certified in 1985, was a top notch building head to toe. The Chain treated the building with TLC, and technically, it was probably better than most of the newer complexes built today.
Rumor has it that they moved the THX system over to Station Square #1 “ Bijou ” after the Stanley closed. I do find this hard to believe, as the Station Square opened with this screen already certified some three years earlier.
“The Rocketeer” was presented at the Stanley Theatre in 70mm 6-Track THX Dolby Stereo SR beginning on Friday June 21, 1991 (the film’s nationwide release date).
It’s hard to believe that huge films such “The Empire Strikes Back” used to open up on just one screen in a city as big as Vancouver.
It was standard fare! I used to work with someone who managed the Vogue during the run of Jedi in 83, he said the lineups were down the block and then some.
Circa 1951 photo added courtesy of the Hemmings Motor News Facebook page.
One of its managers was Cliff Gallant (when the Stanley was a Famous Players theatre); Gallant ran the Capitol 6 and Doug Smith managed the Stanley, and the two switched jobs, as I understood it. Anyone know if those two managers are still alive?
I started with Famous in the early 2000s. I’m not exactly sure what happened to them but the name Doug Smith sounds familiar. He might have been at corporate in Toronto. Neither of them were managing the Capitol 6 by then.
Opened on December 15, 1930.
A chronology of Vancouver’s 70mm presentation history, has recently been published. The Stanley gets several mentions in the piece.