Epic Theatre
646 Main Street,
Winnipeg,
MB
R3B
646 Main Street,
Winnipeg,
MB
R3B
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 11 comments
None of this was unexpected, since no one knew that the theatre was still intact until after the decision got made to demolish them.. The Starland was just a shell but the Rex/Epic was still a theatre even if it hadn’t been used as such for such a long time.
This is why it so important that we all share information about what still exists, so that hopefully the history can still be saved before it gets to this point..
I myself believe that there is a special part of hell reserved for people who demolish old theatres… You can’t build another one, and once they are gone they are lost forever..
Sadly, the status of the Epic aka Regent aka Rex theatre must now be changed to Closed/Demolished as of today. It has been pounded into a pile of rubble.
The 1913 facade still existed beneath a more recent one, along with other architectural detail that came to light. Promises from the demolition firm to peel away the false front so that photos of the historic facade could be taken before total destruction of the theatre was carried out were apparently forgotten. Demolition was carried out in the wee hours of the morning before the originally scheduled time. It was hoped that some original artifacts like the coat of arms above the proscenium could be salvaged before the building came down. However the demolition proceeded with such haste that it seems unlikely that anything was saved.
Well the building is still standing. Demolition is supposedly still coming. City of Winnipeg is suing the demolition company for botching the Starland’s facade.. See story here…
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Found out that the Rex theatre was under the control of the Allan Theatre Chain until 1923 when they went under and were bought out by Famous Players
Here are more opinions:
http://www.truwinnipeg.org/
Here is another photo. Ave atque vale.
http://tinyurl.com/5d7kzh
Demolition began today… very sad the whole business.
Still more photos of the inside here…
http://flickr.com/photos/christiansphotos/
It is heartbreaking to see that so much has survived only to end up in a landfill next week… Looks like the paint is original from 1913…
More interior pictures and some comment here.
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Someone did manage to gain access to the theater yesterday to take some photos. Looking at the photos I was surprised to see how much of the original ornamental detail from 1913 has survived. Unfortunately the interior has suffered the curse of many closed up buildings. Broken windows have allowed pigeons to roost inside with the inevitable excrement left over everything, a lot of it on the original red leather theater seats. Except for one corner of the balcony apparently there is very little water damage to the interior.
Looks like these buildings are coming down next week… Hopefully someone can photograph them before they come down…
There is a good blog article here…
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I remember this theater as the Regent, the name that it had for many years. However, I believe that when first opened it was called the Rex.
Across the street from the Epic and Starland was the Oak theater located near the Occidental Hotel. It was small with a single center aisle. It had little to recommend it.
The Bijou theater (demolished) was further south on Main with its entrance in the Clements Block next door to the Union Bank tower. It has its own listing on Cinema Treasures.