Stanley Theatre

2750 Granville Street,
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J3

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Related Websites

Arts Club Theatre Company (Official)

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Famous Players

Architects: Henry Holdsby Simmonds

Functions: Live Theatre

Styles: Art Deco, Moorish

Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

Auditorium shot from TV capture

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

Recent comments (view all 21 comments)

rl_83
rl_83 on May 14, 2016 at 6:33 am

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.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 12, 2016 at 4:07 am

Circa 1951 photo added courtesy of the Hemmings Motor News Facebook page.

SnoozeKing
SnoozeKing on May 12, 2018 at 2:17 am

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?

rl_83
rl_83 on July 26, 2018 at 2:46 pm

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.

MSC77
MSC77 on April 4, 2023 at 5:47 pm

A chronology of Vancouver’s 70mm presentation history, has recently been published. The Stanley gets several mentions in the piece.

MSC77
MSC77 on December 26, 2023 at 4:45 pm

Fifty years ago today THE EXORCIST opened here. The Stanley was among only two-dozen cinemas in twenty-one North American markets to play the film at release launch.

portarian
portarian on February 14, 2024 at 5:57 pm

I worked as a projectionist at the Stanley for years. They had two Philips Todd-AO projectors that could run 35/70mm affixed with Christie Lamphouses. It was a pleasure to operate those projectors. From my understanding they were crated and shipped to a warehouse in Alberta in 1991 after its closure. Sad demise for two of the greatest projectors ever made. They exhibited years of film history.

JonFB
JonFB on November 7, 2025 at 7:37 pm

This theater is heavily featured in the Bryan Adams music video for “Heaven.”

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on November 9, 2025 at 3:41 pm

Closed as a movie theater on September 26, 1991 with Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”.

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