Majestic Theatre
20 W. Hastings Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6B
20 W. Hastings Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6B
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Odeon Theatres (Canada) Ltd., Pantages
Architects: Benjamin Marcus Priteca, Henry Holdsby Simmonds
Styles: Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Pantages Theatre, Beacon Theatre, Odeon Hastings
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Alexander Pantages began building a 2nd Pantages Theatre in 1914, but suspended construction due to shortages from the war. Building was resumed in 1916 and on June 18, 1917 it was officially opened as a vaudeville house. Charlie Chaplin, Gypsy Lee Rose, Jack Dempsey and others would have performances here.
Located across Hastings Street from the Rex Theatre (now Army & Navy), it later became the Beacon Theatre, the Odeon Hastings and finally the Majestic Theatre which closed in late-1965. With the building under decay, Odeon decided to sell the building to a parking lot operator who thus razed the building, under much public protest, to make way for a parking lot which is still operating to this day. Sadly, the only remnant remaining of the original theatre is a small bricked portion on the Hastings Street frontage.
Contributed by
Sean Jung
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Here are some photos of the theater:
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Mike Rivest posted this 1950 newspaper ad on his site:
http://tinyurl.com/lfleq5
The November 19, 1921, issue of The Music Trade Review reported that a Robert-Morton organ would be installed in the Pantages Theatre at Vancouver. I’m not sure if this was done then or not, as the PSTOS page for the Pantages says a Robert-Morton was installed in the house in 1925.
There’s a new building on the site of the old Pantages aka Beacon, Majestic and Hastings Odeon. It’s ironic that the one feet wide bricked section of the old theatre is still there between the two buildings.
Two pictures from the City of Vancouver archives, one showing the installation of the new signage converting the theatre to the Odeon Hastings and the other of the theatre as the Majestic. View link
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Here’s another photo of the Majestic, taken around September 1965 (which indicates the theatre was still open then, but would close shortly thereafter):
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This one opened on June 18, 1917.
The correct order of names for this theatre are:
Pantages (1917) Beacon (1930) Odeon Hastings (1946) Majestic (1958)
Odeon Theatres Ltd., interior of Hastings Theatre, December 1946, photos added courtesy Bill Taylor.
The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada says that the Odeon Hastings Theatre underwent modernization with major alterations in 1946. The plans for the project were by Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds.